The Provisions of Article X: Some Comments Regarding Assistance and Protection: Paper 3

DR THOMAS STOCK[*]

I. Introduction

The success of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) will depend on bothinternational and national implementation. The Organisation for the Prohibitionof Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is the international organization establishedto oversee implementation and compliance. Its Preparatory Commission (PrepCom)has been established and at work in The Hague for more than a year. By August1994, 13 states (Albania, Australia, Bulgaria, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Germany,the Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Norway, the Seychelles, Spain and Sweden)had ratified the CWC, and the number of signatory states had increased to157.

The national implementation of the CWC is entirely the responsibility ofthe individual states. The path from signing to ratification of this complexConvention may be long and difficult owing to the practical consequencesfor each individual State Party. Under Article VII of the CWC (NationalImplementation Measures), individual States Parties will be required totake measures to adhere to the Convention. It may be useful to recall thatnational implementation and the provision to submit all necessary informationvia declarations are prerequisites for effective international verification.Article VII is quite general in its wording and leaves it open to individualStates Parties to decide how they will implement the provisions of the Convention.

Under the CWC all States Parties will have equal status as regards non-possessionof CW, as required by Article I. Nevertheless the practical situation, especiallyin the first 10 to 15 years, will differ owing to the fact that the possessornations are obliged to destroy their stockpiles during that period. Thismeans that States Parties will remain divided into two groups: (a)past possessors which continue to possess stockpiles; and (b) non-possessors.In addition, it must be kept in mind that universal adherence to the CWCis a long-term goal; not all states (including some supposed possessors)will join the Convention from the beginning.

The CWC provides a security environment that should enable States Partiesto feel confident that all other States Parties are in compliance with theirobligations.

This paper analyses the provisions and obligations of Article X, Assistanceand Protection against Chemical Weapons, with respect to the national implementationundertakings of the States Parties. Assistance and protection against CWare sometimes neglected or underestimated by States Parties, but these aspectsof the CWC will be of major importance for the undiminished security ofStates Parties after the Convention enters into force.

II. Assistance and Protection against CW under Article X

Article X of the CWC makes clear that the negotiators left the task ofworking out the optimum kind of procedures required for providing assistanceto the PrepCom. Under Article X of the CWC each State Party has the rightto request and receive assistance in the following situations:

1. If chemical weapons have been used against it.

2. If riot control agents have been used against it as a method of warfare.


3. If it is threatened by the actions or activities of a State that are prohibited under Article I.

The CWC defines assistance as: 'the coordination and delivery to StatesParties of protection against chemical weapons'.

Three types of assistance are defined as regards: (a) use of CW,(b) threat of CW use, and (c) the results of an on-site investigationafter an alleged use of CW. The types of assistance are: emergency, supplementaryand humanitarian assistance. Means of assistance are defined inter aliaas detection equipment, alarm systems, protective equipment, medical antidotesand treatments, decontamination equipment and decontaminants and adviceon protective measures. The CWC outlines the rules of procedure for requestingeach form of assistance and the ways in which the OPCW should respond. Theforms the three types of assistance might take are discussed below.

Emergency assistance

Assistance can be provided by the OPCW and individual States Parties onthe basis of a request and before investigation has been completed. Themeans of assistance in such a case might include: protective equipment,decontamination equipment, decontaminants, medical supplies and support,antidotes, and so on.

Supplementary assistance

Assistance can be provided by the OPCW and individual States Parties afterinvestigation has been completed and the Executive Council has taken a decisionon further actions. The means of assistance might include: medical supplies,trained personnel, decontamination equipment and decontaminants, medicaltreatment, and the like.

Humanitarian assistance

Assistance can be provided by States Parties in the event of the threatof chemical attack. The means of assistance might include: detection equipment,alarm systems, protective gear, medical supplies, antidotes, and so on.

Article X outlines the obligation of the States Parties to provide assistancethrough the OPCW in one or more of the following ways:

(a) contributing to the Voluntary Fund (VF) for Assistance, which will be established at the first Conference of the States Parties;

(b) concluding an agreement concerning the procurement of means of assistance with the OPCW (if possible not later than 180 days after entry into force); and


(c) declaring (not later than 180 days after entry into force) the kind of assistance it could provide in the event of a request by the OPCW.

III. What has been achieved under Article X?

The PrepCom established an expert group on Technical Cooperation andAssistance which, as of May 1994, has conducted five meetings. The majorachievements of the expert group are discussed below.

Procurement of assistance from States Parties

A 'Model Bilateral Agreement between the OPCW and a State Party concerningthe procurement of Assistance'[1] as requested underArticle V, subparagraph 7(b), has been worked out. This Model Agreementwill serve as the legal framework for any procurement of assistance by theOPCW provided by an individual State Party. Its annexes contain forms whichlist items, equipment and personnel to be provided and which are coveredby the agreement.

After it was decided by the PrepCom that the OPCW should establish its ownstockpile of protective equipment, the expert group compiled a list of protectiveequipment which the OPCW could use in accordance with the provisions ofArticle X and which might be stored at the OPCW storage facility. This equipmentcould be used for: (a) emergency assistance, or (b) investigationspursuant to Article X, paragraph 9. There is not yet agreement on how tobudget for this stock of protective equipment.

Information on national programmes

Article X, subparagraph 4, notes that each State Party shall submit: 'Forpurposes of increasing the transparency of national programmes related toprotective purposes...annually to the Technical Secretariat informationon its programme...'.

There is an understanding that the submission of some of the informationis mandatory, while supplying other information will be voluntary. However,there is still uncertainty about where the border will be drawn. The expertgroup has worked out two lists of categories of information to be providedby States Parties on national programmes related to protective purposes.In addition, there is an understanding that the voluntary information canserve as a kind of confidence-building measure (CBM).[2]

There is a suggestion that the information required under Article X, paragraph4, should be provided by each State Party not later than 90 days after theend of the calendar year to which information refers.[3]Final agreement has not been reached on the extent of the annual provisionof information to be provided by a State Party to the OPCW.

Information on assistance

Article X, subparagraph 7(c), requires States Parties to provide assistancein response to an appeal by the OPCW. The expert group has developed illustrativelists of 'Categories of Information on Assistance that could be made availableby States Parties'. The purpose of these lists is to enable the TechnicalSecretariat to determine what relevant assistance might be available andwhere such assistance might be obtained whenever assistance is requested.These lists contain information on: (a) equipment, (b) medicalassistance, (c) personnel, (d) training, and (e) assistanceand protection. They can be used by States Parties in preparing their offersof assistance to the OPCW. However, as yet final agreement has not beenreached on these lists.

Establishment of the Voluntary Fund

As outlined under Article X, subparagraph 7(a), States Parties must undertaketo provide assistance through the Organisation. One possible measure is:'To contribute to the Voluntary Fund for Assistance to be established bythe Conference at its first session'.

Already in 1993 agreement was reached that: 'The Voluntary Fund should comprisemonetary contributions from States Parties as well as from NGOs [non-governmentalorganizations], institutions, private parties or individuals. Any conditionon use of these funds must be consistent with the aims and purpose of theConvention and approved by the Executive Council'.

The expert group has also developed guidelines for Regulations for the VoluntaryFund for Assistance.[4] The Voluntary Fund should beused for the creation, maintenance and periodic replenishment of the stockpilefor emergency assistance and to assure continued availability of means ofassistance with the OPCW.[5]

OPCW data bank on protection against CW

Article X, paragraph 5 requires that: 'The Technical Secretariat shall establish,not later than 180 days after entry into force of this Convention and maintain,for the use of any requesting State Party, a data bank containing freelyavailable information concerning various means of protection against chemicalweapons as well as such information as may be provided by States Parties'.

Based upon recommendations from the expert group, a request for documentsfor this OPCW data bank has been sent to all signatory states.[6]The data bank, which will be indexed by a data base accessible by StatesParties, is to contain general subject information (on chemistry, physics,medicine, electronics and technologies) as well as special subject information(on different means of protection, detection, contamination, medical prophylaxisand chemical munitions disposal). This information should be made availableto the PTS prior to entry into force of the Convention.

IV. Obligations of States Parties under Article X

Under Article VII-National Implementation Measures-a State Party is required'to implement its obligations under this Convention' and 'undertakes tocooperate with the Organisation in the exercise of all its functions andin particular to provide assistance to the Technical Secretariat'.

Taking the context of Article X into account, a State Party: (a)has to provide assistance to the OPCW; (b) may provide assistanceto other States Parties through the OPCW; and (c) can provide directlyassistance to another State Party.

In preparing for national implementation, States Parties have to considerhow they can fulfil their obligations related to assistance under ArticleX. Each State Party must:

(a) consider any possible contribution which it can make to the OPCW stockpile of protective equipment;

(b) submit not later than 90 days after the end of the calendar year information on national programmes related to protective purposes;

(c) consider a monetary contribution to the Voluntary Fund of the OPCW;

(d) consider the information which it might be able to provide under Article X, subparagraph 7(c), in response to an appeal by the OPCW; and


(e) consider any voluntary contribution to the OPCW data bank on protection against CW.

There is a clear understanding that Article X calls for two differenttypes of contributions and information: (a) mandatory, and (b)voluntary. A State Party with national programmes related to protectivepurposes is obliged to provide annual information on such programmes. Greateropenness and more transparency will serve to increase confidence among StatesParties in the early days of the CWC.

Under paragraph 7, each State Party has the freedom to choose one or moreforms for its contribution to the means of assistance and protection againstCW which will be established under the supervision of the OPCW. These meansare accessible to each State Party on request depending on the use or threatof use of CW as outlined under Article X, paragraph 8. At the beginningof the life of the CWC and in order to contribute to confidence building,it could be helpful if each State Party were to make voluntary contributionsbased on Article X of the OPCW.

Article VII, paragraph 2, makes clear that each State Party must be ableto co-operate with other States Parties in the field of assistance and protectionagainst CW. It states that 'Each State Party shall cooperate with otherStates Parties.... to facilitate the implementation of the obligations underparagraph 1 [Each State Party shall....adopt the necessary measures to implementits obligations under this Convention....].

V. NGOs and Article X

Not only States Parties are called on to contribute to Article X; underthe Voluntary Fund for Assistance, NGOs, institutions, private parties orindividuals will also be allowed to make contributions.

NGOs and other institutions might make a useful contribution to ArticleX in another area. In the CWC negotiations at the Conference on Disarmamentin Geneva NGOs such as Pugwash, scientific institutes, independent researchersand SIPRI took great interest in particular aspects of the negotiationssuch as verification, protection, decontamination and detection, and thelike. These NGOs accumulated a substantial amount of knowledge on specificaspects of the Convention in the form of literature and data-base storedmaterial. The obligation under Article X, paragraph 5, to establish theOPCW data bank on protection against chemical weapons has been translatedinto an official request to States Parties. It might be appropriate to broadenthe scope of this paragraph by allowing NGOs to contribute to the data bank.This would enable the OPCW to access their experience and the material collectedby them over the years. SIPRI is an NGO which has worked in the field ofchemical disarmament for more than 25 years, and SIPRI is both ready andable to make a contribution to assist in establishing the data bank on protectionagainst chemical weapons.

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* The views expressed in this paperare those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the StockholmInternational Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

[1] Preparatory Commission for the Organisation for theProhibition of Chemical Weapons (PrepCom OPCW) document PC-VII/B/WP.6, May1994.

[2] PrepCom OPCW document PC-VI/B/WP.8, 22 Feb. 1994.

[3] PrepCom OPCW document PC-VI/B/WP.8, 22 Feb. 1994.

[4] PrepCom OPCW document PC-V/B/WP.16, 3 Dec. 1993.

[5] PrepCom OPCW document PC-V/B/WP.16, Appendix 3; 3Dec. 1993.

[6] 'Note by the Executive Secretary: Request for documentsfor the OPCW data bank on protection against chemical weapons', PrepComOPCW document PC-VI/B/3, 28 Jan. 1994.

(September 1994)