Topic: Re-Evaluating the Chemical Weapons Convention
Country: Namibia
Delegate Name: Sarah Skaleski
School: Royal Oak High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Namibia position papers GLIMUN 2017 committees
The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) was developed to destroy a classification of weapons that have the potential to lead to mass destruction. The CWC prohibits the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer, and use of chemical weapons. 192 state-parties have ratified the CWC, including Namibia. The country of Namibia recognizes the importance of the CWC for its goal is to protect all nations, including their own, from the dangers that chemical weapons present to the global community. Namibia believes it is their responsibility, as an engaged nation in the international community to promote the protection of all countries, and ensuring that the goals of the CWC are met, addressed and clearly stated. Namibia highly enforces that all countries who believe in retaining and keeping the international peace are to take part in the CWC and look to update sections of the treaty to ensure its success to protect all nations from the potential dangers of chemical weapons.
The CWC was last updated in 1997, and went into effect on April 29th 1997. From the moment the CWC was set into the place of international law, questions have arisen about whether it has been too vague on its policy and regulation of chemical weapons. Many loopholes in the CWC allow for stockpiling of chemical weapons for military and commercial use as long as they are not used to inflict harm. Cases where a chemical can have a completely harmless commercial use but when used in its militant form it can cause large amounts of harm and destruction, go almost unregulated by the CWC leaving room for countries to possess dangerous weapons. As a result, these nations pose an international threat to armed forces, peacekeepers, infrastructure and more. Not to mention, they put civilians in harm's way. In order to update the CWC to contain more regulatory measures regarding the uses and limitations of chemical weapons world leaders must discuss what powers the CWC should receive and the bounds it may take to protect all nations from the dangers of chemical weapons. Problems also arise as recent updates in science have led to problems determining the difference between chemical and biological weapons. The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC), which the country of Namibia is close to joining, deals with biological weapons and is much less specific in its regulations than the CWC, even though biological weapons are not proven to be any less dangerous or harmful. This leads to problems with regulating weapons. If a country believes the weapon is biological then it is subjected to much less regulation, compared to a weapon believed to be a chemical weapon. What defines a chemical weapon? What defines a biological weapon? Who should decide the weapon classification, do we leave it to the individual country to decide or have a standard system that all nations must comply to? Should biological and chemical weapons be handled with the same regulations? Should the CWC and BWC be merged? If they are not merged how will nations determine the difference between the two? Most importantly, what ways can the CWC be amended to be more in control of the uses of chemical weapons so that international safety is secured?
The CWC parties meet every 5 years to discuss and review the progress of the CWC, but little has been changed since the treaty was put into action, despite the numerous problems that have arisen from the treaty's vagueness and limited control of the regulation of chemical weapons. In 2002 the United States made reports of police enforcement in Moscow Russia, using “non-lethal” chemicals in an enclosed theater during a hostage crisis. Russian officials used a gas that killed a total of 117 hostages. Reports strongly suggested that the gas used was a version of a “non-lethal” chemical modified to have much stronger effects. The reports remain tentative because Russian officials refused to offer samples of the gas used, and would not offer information about its content. The CWC did not regulate or record any of the chemicals used in the attack nor did they enforce Russia to provide the information. For this reason, Nambia believes that a resolution that updates the CWC needs to include clauses that are regulatory and limit the use, production, and stockpile of all chemical weapons, while clearly defining what a chemical weapon constitutes. A resolution should include specific definitions stating the difference between chemical and biological weapons and what regulations apply to their use. A resolution should include a way to merge the CWC and BWC or to clearly define the difference between each convention, so there is no uncertainty of what regulations apply to what weapons. Chemical and biological weapons are becoming more similar and can have similar impacts and use, because of this they should have similar regulations and controls. Resolutions should not leave loopholes for countries to escape the regulations and punishments of using chemical or biological weapons against permitted uses. The CWC’s goal must be to monitor, protect, and regulate a clear and specific system to monitor chemical weapons, this is necessary for the protection and safety of all counties.
Namibia looks forward to building a strong resolution and working with all members of LEGAL to succeed in creating the means for all nations to come together and create a successful chemical weapon free world
Sources Judith Miller And William J. Broad. “U.S. Suspects Opiate in Gas In Russia Raid.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 Oct. 2002, www.nytimes.com/2002/10/29/world/hostage-drama-in-moscow-the-toxic-agent-us-suspects-opiate-in-gas-in-russia-raid.html.
“Re-Evaluating the Chemical Weapons Convention – GLICA.” GLICA, www.modgear.net/glica17/hello-world-4/.
“Namibia Makes Headway towards Full Implementation of Chemical Weapons …”Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, www.opcw.org/news/article/namibia-makes-headway-to-full-implementation-of-chemical-weapons-convention/.
