Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)

Signed: 1993
Ratified: 1997
Senate Ratification Vote: 74-26

Lyle Black and Darwyn Rankins, firefighters from the Selfridge Fire Department in Selfridge, Michigan, seal a simulated detonated chlorine tank Aug. 27, 2008, during an Installation Protection Program Full-Scale Exercise involving the U.S. Air Force 127th Wing and Tenants at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. During the full-day exercise, personnel were evaluated on their ability to respond to threats from weapons of mass destruction and from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jeremy L. Brownfield/Released)

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) was signed by President George H. W. Bush and prohibits the possession, use, or production of chemical weapons. Unlike the preceding 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), which lacked an enforcement mechanism, the CWC included a specific protocol for the declaration and destruction of all existing stockpiles. The CWC also has an international monitoring and enforcement body, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which does essential on-site inspections. Inspections can be done at the request of a “challenge” by another treaty member, further building on past lessons of the need to develop weapons of mass destruction treaties with rigid verifications procedures. To date, 188 nations are signatories to this treaty.

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons