Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

Context (PIB): The 23^rd Regional Meeting of National Authorities of States Parties in Asia was organised by OPCW at New Delhi and hosted by the National Authority of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD), along with 24 states parties attended the meet.

About Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)

The organisation was established in 1997 as a nodal body for the effective implementation of Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).|
Headquarters: The Hague, Netherlands.
Functions:
- Conduct inspections to verify that signatory states comply with the convention.
- Conducts testing of sites and victims of suspected chemical weapons assaults.
- Offers assistance to and safeguards States that are attacked or threatened with chemical weapons, while fostering cooperation in the peaceful utilisation of chemicals.
It was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 2013 for its pivotal role in suppressing chemical weapons globally.

India signed the CWC treaty in January 1993.
The Chemical Weapons Convention Act, 2000, was passed to implement the CWC.
It provided for the establishment of a National Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention (NACWC). It is the national authority for implementing the Convention in India.
- Statutory body under the CWC Act, 2000. It is the Chief Liaison between the GoI and the OPCW.
- It is an office in the Cabinet Secretariat of the GoI.

India’s oldest Chemical Industry Association works closely with the NACWC.
It is the premier national organisation under Ministry of Commerce & Industry, representing all sectors of India’s chemical industry, including organic and inorganic chemicals, plastics, and petrochemicals.
It was awarded the ‘OPCW-The Hague Award 2024’, a first of its kind globally by OPCW, recognising its pivotal role in achieving the goals of the CWC.

UNRCPD assists countries in the region to achieve their peace, security, and disarmament goals
UNSC Resolution 1540 obliges all states to prevent non-State actors from accessing nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons and their delivery systems.

It is a multilateral treaty banning chemical weapons and requiring their destruction.
It was open for signing from 1993 and became effective from 1997.
Members: 193 member states. Egypt, North Korea, and South Sudan have neither signed nor ratified the CWC.
Implementing Body: The OPCW implements CWC, which is headquartered in The Hague, with a mission to achieve a world free of chemical weapons.
It conducts audits of chemical facilities globally. It is more comprehensive than the 1925 Geneva Protocol.
It prohibits:
- Development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transferring & use of chemical weapons.
- Assisting other States to indulge in activities that the CWC prohibits.
- Using riot-control devices as ‘warfare methods’.