Citation

Robinson JPPERRY. Int. Aff. 2008; 84(2): 223-239.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Royal Institute of International Affairs, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1468-2346.2008.00701.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article discusses, from a civil society viewpoint, the pitfalls in the way of progress towards a world free of chemical weapons. States’ parties are about to assemble for their second five-yearly conference to review the operation of the treaty that established obligations intended to create such a world. The destruction of weapons and associated infrastructure required under the treaty is now nearing completion, but there remains the challenge of preventing a resurgence of chemical weapons under the influence of new utilities and other forms of value created by political change, by diffusing technology, and by advancing science. Impeding such governance is the need to accommodate divergent national interests, compounded by widespread ignorance or misunderstanding of issues involved, or heedlessness towards them. This is especially to be seen in the failure of a substantial majority of states’ parties to incorporate into their implementing legislation the comprehensive nature of the prohibitions set forth in the treaty. It is also evident in the growing list of issues in the ‘too difficult to deal with’ category. An important consequence is the creeping legitimization, or acceptance by default, of activities that ought to have been the subject of collective consultation among all states’ parties. One example is the growing use for purposes of counterterrorism of chemical weapons that fall outside the category of ‘weapons of mass destruction’ but which are nevertheless chemical weapons in the sense of the treaty. A measure of the success of the impending Review Conference will be the mandate it establishes for the conduct of such consultations.