{
  "id": "RL32158",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL32158",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 104187,
      "date": "2003-11-14",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-08T14:34:02.178544",
      "title": "Chemical Weapons Convention: Issues for Congress",
      "summary": "More than 100 years of international efforts to ban chemical weapons culminated January 13,\n1993,\nin the signing of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The Convention entered into force\nApril 29, 1997. One hundred fifty-three of the 178 signatories have ratified the Convention. On\nApril 24, 1997, the Senate passed the CWC resolution of ratification ( S.Res. 75 , 105th\nCongress) by a vote of 74-26. President Clinton signed the resolution and the United States became\nthe 75th nation to ratify the CWC Convention, and Congress retains a continuing oversight role in\nits implementation.\n  The CWC bans the development, production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons by\nmembers signatories. It also requires the destruction of all chemical weapons stockpiles and\nproduction facilities. Neither the United States nor Russia will be able to meet the original CWC's\ndeadlines for destruction of their CW stockpiles, and have been granted extensions to at least 2012. \nThe Convention provides the most extensive and intrusive verification regime of any arms control\ntreaty, extending its coverage to not only governmental but also civilian facilities. The Convention\nalso requires export controls and reporting requirements on chemicals that can be used as warfare\nagents and their precursors. The CWC establishes the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical\nWeapons (OPCW) to oversee the Convention's implementation.\n  Chemical Weapons Convention implementing legislation ( P.L. 105-277 ) provides the\n statutory\nauthority for domestic compliance with the Convention's provisions. It sets criminal and civil\npenalties for the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, transfer, possession, or use of\nchemical weapons. It also establishes: 1) procedures for seizure, forfeiture, and destruction of\ncontraband chemical weapons; 2) statutory authority for record-keeping and reporting requirements\nrelevant to the CWC; 3) various restrictions on certain chemicals, depending on their likelihood of\nbeing used to produce chemical weapons; and 4) a protective regime for confidential business\ninformation gathered from private corporations. The legislation also provides detailed procedures\nto be used for on-site inspections by the OPCW, including limitations on access and search warrant\nprocedures, should they be required. \n  CWC advocates continue to express concerns over so-called \"treaty-breaking \"sections of the\nimplementing legislation, and lobby for their amendment. Of particular concern are provisions that\nallow the President to block challenge inspections, and that prohibit the OPCW inspectors from\nsending chemical samples outside the United States for analysis. These provisions are intended to\nprotect U.S. national security interests and proprietary commercial information. CWC supporters,\nhowever, believe that blocking a challenge inspection violates a basic premise of the convention, and\nthat forcing inspectors' analysis to be conducted within the United States undermines confidence in\nthe verification regime. These provisions may also provide an excuse for other nations to adopt\nsimilar positions. This report will be updated as events warrant.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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      "topics": []
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  "topics": [
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}