Second CWC Review Conference 2008

Many thanks to Oliver Meier of the Arms Control Association for pointing out this debate in the German Bundestag on the Second CWC Review Conference and the adoption of a resolution. The text of the resolution and the transcript of the debate are both available on the internet (in German).

Fortunately, Oliver has provided his own rough translation of most of the resolution:

Draft resolution of the German Bundestag, No. 16/8755, sponsored by the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats

For a successful Chemical Weapons Convention review conference and for a strengthened treaty regime

The German Parliament declares:

Despite some difficulties in implementation, the Chemical Weapons Convention is a success story. …

The goal of universality has almost been reached. …

In the past, questions have repeatedly been raised, whether all states-parties have comprehensively declared all CW stocks. … It seems important that trust in the effectiveness of the treaty is not undermined by delays in the destruction process. There can be no doubt about the determination of Russia and the United States to eliminate their chemical weapons.

The OPCW is an exceptional organization in the history of arms control and non-proliferation. … But during the last couple of years, the effectiveness of the OPCW’s monitoring mechanisms has been called into question as a result of progress made in chemistry and the development of novel chemical agents.

One of the biggest achievements of the CWC is the full proscription of chemical weapons. The growing interest of some states parties in the development and use of so-called “non-lethal” weapons (incapacitants) threatens to undermine the comprehensive ban on chemical weapons. It is therefore important that the review conference clarifies that the use of toxic chemicals as a method of warfare remains prohibited. There is a necessity to create a common understanding among states-parties under what circumstances the use of toxic agents is not prohibited and to agree jointly which agents may be used for riot control purposes.

…

From April 7-18, 2008 the second CWC review conference will take place in The Hague. In addition to the goal of universalization of the CWC, questions of the verification of non-lethal chemical weapons and measures to strengthen the OPCW have to be discussed. Furthermore, new developments in chemistry and the consequences of the developments of chemical agents for the OPCW’s verification activities have to be discussed.

The German Bundestag urges the German government to:

1. continue to work towards universalization of the CWC at the review conference;

2. work towards an affirmation of the goal of destruction of all chemical weapons within treaty deadlines and its importance for success of the treaty;

3. work towards an agreement that enables the OPCW to use the most modern verification technologies and to apply these technologies and for a clear statement to the effect that doubts about the compliance of certain states parties have to be clarified through challenge inspections;

4. to press towards a decision of the review conference that would confirm that the use of toxic chemicals is only allowed in quantities and for purposes that are in conformity with the Convention’s general purpose criterion. In particular, the government should work towards an agreement that states parties will, in a timely manner, develop a common understanding which so-called incapacitants are not prohibited and under what circumstances the use of such agents is permitted.

Berlin, April 9, 2008

and his own “personal highlights” of the debate:

Karl-Theodor Freiherr zu Guttenberg, arms control spokesperson for the Conservatives highlighted the fact that some non-signatories such as Angola, Somalia and Egypt are among the top recipients of German development aid. Von Guttenberg called upon the German government, particularly in the cases of Egypt and Syria, to increase emphasise of the importance of joining the CWC. He said this might be helpful to reduce Israeli threat perspection and convince Tel Aviv to ratify the CWC.

Uta Zapf, chair of the Bundestag’s subcommittee on disarmament, arms control and nonproliferation, warned that against the background of peace-keeping operations, insurgencies and counter-terrorism operations, the temptation to develop new incapacitants is big. She said that the review conference must address this “hot topic” and define the CWC prohibitions in terms of which agents may be used under what cirumstances. This was echoed by Elke Hoff, arms control spokesperson of the Liberal Party who also emphasised the importance of national implementation measures.

By contrast, Paul Schaefer, Socialist spokesperson for arms control, accused the German government of wanting to legitimise non-lethal weapons and called the resolution ambivalent. Winfried Nachtwei of the Green Party highlighted the fact that were the CWC approach applied to nuclear weapons, we would have a nuclear-weapons free world by 2020. Nachtwei also called on the German government to be more transparent about its own research on non-lethal weapons and urged the government to deal with the problem of old CW dumped in the Baltic Sea.

Thanks again Oliver!