note n°08/13

Noël Stott
Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Security
Studies (South Africa)

Africa and the Chemical

Weapons Convention
(April 2013)

Abstract on non-proliferation and international

co-operation and assistance, adjustments to the
With 188 states parties, the Chemical Weapons mandate, programmes and approaches given to
Convention (CWC) is one of the most successful the OPCW by its Member States will need to be
international treaties and the 3rd Five-Year Re- made. As a way to improve effective national
view Conference of the Convention is scheduled implementation of the CWC in Africa, thereby
for April 2013. The near-universalisation of the creating the essential conditions for providing
CWC in Africa is a testament to the continent’s reliable non-proliferation assurances, and
commitment to ensuring that the misuse of dan- addressing new challenges faced by States Par-
gerous chemicals does not happen either in ties of the Convention, this paper proposes a
Africa, or anywhere else in the world. There number of recommendations for the OPCW1.
are, however, still challenges. As the Organisa-
tion for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons 1. A shorter version of this article was published in the
(OPCW) shifts its focus away from chemical Non-Proliferation Monthly Special Issue on the CWC 3rd
weapons disarmament to one that concentrates Review Conference (2013/11).
Introduction industry - should be able to announce its acces-
Angola, Somalia and Egypt and now South Su- sion at the 3rd Five-Year Review Conference, a
dan, which in July 2011 became the 193rd mem- key focus of which will be on all states fulfilling
ber state of the United Nations (UN), are among the CWC’s core objectives and on developing
only eight countries that are not party to the strategies to prevent the re-emergence or future
Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). With 188 use of these weapons. Importantly, the three
states parties, the Convention is one of the most Africa non-parties’ (and particularly Angola)
successful international treaties and with the 3rd accession at this time will reinforce the African
Five-Year Review Conference of the Convention Union’s (AU) calls for a Chemical Weapons-Free
scheduled for April 2013, the time for these Afri- Zone in Africa – something it has been pushing
can States to become States Parties is long over- for since at least 20043 and which was streng-
due. Angola, Egypt, Somalia and South Sudan thened in 2006 with the signing of a Memoran-
like the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea dum of Understanding between the AU and the
and the Syrian Arab Republic, have not even OPCW that underscores their continuing co-
signed the Treaty. Israel and Burma have signed operation in the Convention’s implementation.
but not ratified. During the 17th session of the At the signing ceremony, the then African Union
Conference of State Parties to the CWC held in Commission Chairperson, Alpha Oumar Konaré,
November 2012, UN Secretary General Ban stated that co-operation with the OPCW was im-
Ki-moon stated that ‘if a world free of chemical portant for the African Union’s goal of establish-
weapons is to be fully realised, it is crucial that ing a chemical weapons-free zone in Africa and
these eight states join without delay’. Members in fostering the peaceful uses of chemistry. The
of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) reiterated OPCW’s work in Africa includes the following
this by calling for the total eradication of all activities:
chemical weapons throughout the world – in- • Support for, and fostering of, international
cluding the stocks held by the United States, cooperation in the peaceful use of chemis-
Russia and Libya - all of whom have had their try;
deadlines to fulfill their commitments to never
under any circumstances “Develop, produce, • Building African capacity for national im-
plementation of the Convention as a whole;
otherwise acquire, stockpile or retain chemical
weapons, or transfer, directly or indirectly, • Assisting the effective functioning of Na-
chemical weapons to anyone” (Article 1, para- tional Authorities, including the control of
graph 1) extended. imports and exports of Scheduled Chemi-
cals;
In some senses one can understand why Somalia
and Egypt have delayed their accession. Somalia • Enhancing understanding of the rights and
has no real functioning government, which, obligations of States Parties;
along with the current internal situation, means • Enhancing understanding of the verifica-
that CWC accession in the near future is tion regimes of the CWC; and,
unlikely. Somalia is party to a limited number of • Facilitating co-operation and enhancing the
international criminal, human rights, humani- capacity of African States Parties in the
tarian and refugee law treaties, and to no con- area of assistance and protection against
ventions covering arms control issues. Egypt the use or threat of use of chemical wea-
insists on linking the issue of nuclear weapons in pons.4
the Middle East with chemical weapons; holding Adherence to the CWC thus provides concrete
that Israel, which has a policy of nuclear ambi- benefits for all OPCW Member States. Not only
guity, should first join the Nuclear Non- does the OPCW support programmes to enhance
Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a non-nuclear Member States’ national capacity infrastructure
weapon state. It maintains that this linkage is a and regulatory framework to implement the
necessary component of its support for a Wea- Convention, but they also strengthen measures
pons of Mass Destruction-Free Zone in the Mid- to protect civilian populations against chemical
dle East.2
Angola, however – a member of NAM that has 3. Workshop on the Universality and the Implementation
of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), conducted
no confirmed history of chemical weapons pos- jointly by the Government of the Federal Republic of
session and use, no serious external threat to its Ethiopia and the Organisation for the Prohibition of
security since the ending of the decades-long Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 20
to 22 April 2004.
civil war in 2002 and a relatively small chemical
4. Noel Stott, Enhancing the Role of the OPCW in Build-
ing Africa’s Capacity to Prevent the Misuse of Toxic
2. See: Noel Stott, Time for Angola to Ratify the Chemical Chemicals, Africa’s Policy Imperatives, Issue 6: May
Weapons Convention, ISS Today, 5 December 2012. 2011.
2
weapons. The Convention eliminates a common on topics that are of direct relevance to them.7
threat, enhances mutual trust and mandates the The OPCW, in co-operation with States Parties
OPCW to deliver concrete support, assistance from the region, co-hosts events in Africa ran-
and protection to all Member States threatened ging from regional meetings of CWC National
by a chemical attack, or who actually suffer such Authorities to sub-regional training workshops
an attack. Perhaps, in the African context, more for customs officials.
importantly, the OPCW also facilitates As of 31/12/2011, the region of Africa has gained
co-operation amongst States Parties to promote from the OPCW’s international co-operation
the peaceful uses of chemistry.5 As such these programmes in the following ways (global fi-
programmes yield direct economic benefits to a gures in brackets):
continent struggling with socio-economic devel-
opment. • 130 analytical chemists trained (of 315)
• 112 Associate Programme participants (of
265)
Africa and the OPCW
Africa is a major stakeholder in the Organisation • 610 Conference Support participants (of
for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons 1,966)
(OPCW): African States Parties to the Chemical • 68 interns (of 115)
Weapons Convention are actively involved in the • 56 conferences (of 239)
work of the OPCW’s policy-making organs and
subsidiary bodies and have in the past been • 48 laboratories (of 92)
elected chairs or vice-chairs of Conferences of • 153 research projects (of 437)
the States Parties. The Executive Council always • 30 transfers of used and functional equip-
has nine African States as members representing ment (of 73)
the African region and thus they are able to in-
fluence policy decisions enabling the OPCW to • In total, 1207 individual and facility benefi-
function effectively. African States are also in- ciaries (of 3,502)8
cluded on the OPCW’s subsidiary bodies, inclu- Recent and forthcoming OPCW events in Africa9
ding the Advisory Body on Administrative and include Analytical Chemistry courses in Tunisia
Financial Matters, the Confidentiality Commis- and in South Africa.
sion and the Scientific Advisory Board. The con- The OPCW’s implementation support pro-
tribution of the African States Parties is also re- gramme includes assisting States Parties to meet
flected in the large number of senior posts in the their obligations under Article VII of the Con-
Technical Secretariat that are held by nationals vention: establishing National Authorities for
from the region.6 effective liaison with the OPCW; taking the ne-
In 2007, the OPCW Director-General proposed cessary steps to enact legislation, including penal
the development of a Programme to Strengthen legislation, and adopt administrative measures
Cooperation with Africa on the Chemical Weap- to implement the Convention; identifying de-
ons Convention. The Programme would: clarable chemical industry and trade activities;
• Respond to the particular needs of African and submitting accurate declarations. In addi-
States Parties; tion, the OPCW has also focused on the areas of
customs officials and port authorities and the
• Contribute to the effective and non- implementation of the requirements of the
discriminatory implementation of the Con- transfers regime, licensing, and the training of
vention; National Authority personnel as national inspec-
• Be supported by Regular Budget and Vol- tion escorts. All this has resulted in: 49 of the 51
untary Contribution from Member States/ States Parties having National Authorities; 26
European Union and in kind contributions submitting Art. VII(5) reports; 12 having legisla-
mostly in Developing Countries. tion covering all key areas and 4 undertaking
Article XII(2e) reviews.10
Over the years the Programme has expanded in 7. Noël Stott, Enhancing the Role of the OPCW in Building
both quantity and in its scope of support and has Africa’s Capacity to Prevent the Misuse of Toxic Chemi-
cals, Africa’s Policy Imperatives, Issue 6: May 2011.
further enabled African actors to participate in
training courses and workshops on the continent 8. http://www.opcw.org
9. See the OPCW website for details of events hosted or
due to be hosted in Africa, http://www.opcw.org
5. http://www.opcw.org
10. National Implementation Update, OPCW Today, Vol. 1
6. http://www.opcw.org No. 2 August 2012.

3
The Importance of National Legis- assistance they receive in the development of
lation advanced chemical technologies will be used
The near-universalisation of the CWC in Africa is only for peaceful purposes.
a testament to the continent’s commitment to
ensuring that the misuse of dangerous chemicals Involving other Stakeholders
does not happen either in Africa, or anywhere Although the OPCW has achieved a great deal in
else in the world. While it remains important to Africa and beyond, it cannot continue to do this
promote accession in the remaining three states alone. Other stakeholders of the established Na-
not yet party to the Convention, effective imple- tional Authorities, such as the chemical industry,
mentation of the CWC in the existing African customs authorities and other governmental
States Parties continues to be an ongoing chal- stakeholders, regional and sub-regional bodies,
lenge. In particular, the fact that only 22 percent as well as civil society must work collaboratively
of African States Parties have implementing to ensure that the practical aspects of the Con-
legislation covering all key areas of the CWC is of vention are implemented appropriately. This
major concern. The CWC contains detailed im- co-operation should also include a tailor-made
plementation provisions explicitly requiring approach to implementing the CWC, and other
States Parties to adopt as criminal offences related WMD conventions in Africa.
activities that violate the treaty and to extend
Importantly for Africa is the impact that conven-
these measures to offences committed by their
tions such as the CWC have on socio-economic
citizens outside of their territory. National laws
development. Benefits of being a States Party
are also necessary to establish and operate the
includes the right to participate in, the fullest
National Authority required under the CWC.
possible exchange of chemicals, equipment and
Given the resource constraints that most African scientific and technical information relating to
countries operate under, it may be useful for the development and application of chemistry
African States Parties to consider an integrated for purposes not prohibited under the Conven-
approach to the regulation of WMD issues in tion. Therefore, engagement on this issue in
general. A useful model of the latter is South Africa must include (or even predominantly fo-
Africa’s Non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass cus on) both the developmental benefits as well
Destruction Act (Act No. 87 of 1983) and its as the security dimensions of OPCW member-
interdepartmental structure - the South African ship. Implementing the CWC does not solely
Non-Proliferation Council for Weapons of Mass pertain to security – keeping chemicals out of
Destruction (NPC) – which administers the Act the hands of unauthorised state and non-state
and controls the transfer (export/import/ actors. Technical assistance, co-operation, and
transit/re-export) of dual-use technology, mate- the transfer of technology are probably most
rials and goods. While it may be true that each of relevant to a continent that struggles with chal-
the major treaties relating to nuclear, biological lenges such as poverty, unemployment and un-
and chemical weapons have different require- der-development.
ments for national implementation measures, it
does not follow that states need to adopt a sepa-
rate and dedicated legal instrument for each. Recommendations
As the OPCW shifts its focus away from chemical
Such an approach would make it easier for States
weapons disarmament to one that concentrates
to implement related treaties such as the NPT
on non-proliferation and international co-
and BTWC and indeed UNSC Resolution 1540
operation and assistance, adjustments to the
thus making the best use of limited resources to,
mandate, programmes and approaches given to
for example, effectively control dual-use nuclear,
the OPCW by its Member States will need to be
biological and chemical materials. This approach
made11 As a way to improve effective national
would also prevent a collage of export control,
implementation of the CWC in Africa, thereby
customs and criminal legislation in a particular
creating the essential conditions for providing
country. In addition, it may make it possible for
reliable non-proliferation assurances, and ad-
States, through appended regulations, to make
dressing new challenges faced by States Parties
provision for new technological developments
of the Convention, such as the potential use of
and risks in the field and new UNSC resolutions
covering non-proliferation issues that may arise
11. See: Amelia Broodryk, ‘Is there a role for civil society
in the future. in the evolution of the OPCW? Academics, NGOs and
Importantly, the adoption of the necessary legis- States Parties: conflict or complementary?’, presentation
to a Wilton Park Conference: Chemical Weapons Conven-
lation by African States will demonstrate their tion: Third Review Conference and beyond, 15 – 17 Octo-
full compliance and build confidence that the ber 2012.

4
toxic industrial chemicals (for example, by non- nical Secretariat, should be lobbied to take a
State actors), the following recommendations more proactive role in strengthening States
are proposed for the OPCW: Parties’ capacities against the misuse of
1. To follow the example of a recent African toxic chemicals and in finding the appro-
initiative to establish a Forum of Nuclear priate balance between security and devel-
Regulatory Bodies in Africa (FNRBA). The opment.
FNRBA sees itself as assisting States to up- 3. The OPCW should assist African States in
grade their legislation and regulatory frame- examining current examples of general
works, to promote education training and WMD control legislation that covers the
managing the recent increase in uranium Convention on the Prohibition of the Deve-
mining on the African continent. The work lopment, Production and Stockpiling of Bac-
of the FNRBA complements that of the In- teriological and Toxin Weapons and their
ternational Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Destruction (BTWC), the Treaty on the
Nuclear Security Programme in Africa. A NonProliferation of Nuclear Weapons
similar African initiative with a mandate on (NPT) as well as the CWC.
the CWC and the chemical industry, in co- 4. Given that the role of both the OPCW and
operation with the OPCW, could be created African civil society is to promote interna-
in order to sustain and maintain a network tional peace and security through disarma-
for information exchange among diplomats, ment and non-proliferation the complemen-
scientific communities, academic institu- tary nature of our activities should be recog-
tions, chemical-industry associations, nized and both should embark on mutually
NGOs, and regional and international insti- reinforcing actions in, for example, promot-
tutions. ing awareness and universality of the CWC
2. The African Union, which, as described in Africa and lobbying for the enactment of
above, has a Memorandum of Understan- domestic laws.◊
ding on Cooperation with the OPCW’s Tech-

Author Les dernières Notes de la FRS

Noël Stott, Senior Research Fellow, Africa's
Development and the Threat of Weapons of - Jaclyn Tandler, Known and Unknows: Pre-
Mass Destruction Project, Institute for Security sident Obama’s Lethal Drone Doctrine,
Studies, Pretoria, South Africa. n° 07/13, April 2013.
- Igor Delanoë, Le partenariat stratégique
russo-syrien : la clef du dispositif naval rus-
The authors’ opinions do not necessari- se en Méditerranée, note n° 06/13, mars
ly reflect those of the Institute for Secu- 2013
rity Studies, its Council, its Trustees or - Jean-François Daguzan, Armées et société
any funder or sponsor of the ISS. dans le monde arabe : entre révolte et
conservatisme, note n° 05/13, février 2013

Retrouvez toute l’actualité et les publications de la Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique sur

W W W . F R S T R AT E G I E . O R G