India Hosts OPCW Regional Meeting

GS2 – International Relations

Context:

The 23rd Regional Meeting of National Authorities of States Parties in Asia was hosted in New Delhi by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), in collaboration with India’s National Authority of the Chemical Weapons Convention (NACWC).

• Participants: Representatives from 24 Asian states and UNRCPD (United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific) attended.

About OPCW:

• Established in 1997, OPCW oversees the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
• Headquarters: The Hague, Netherlands.
• Mandate:
  • Conducts inspections to ensure compliance with the CWC.
  • Assists and protects states facing threats from chemical weapons.
  • Promotes the peaceful use of chemicals.
• Recognition: Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013.

India and the OPCW:

• India signed the CWC in 1993 and enacted the Chemical Weapons Convention Act, 2000.
• Established the NACWC, a statutory body under the Cabinet Secretariat, to serve as the national implementing authority.
• The Indian Chemical Council (ICC), India’s oldest chemical industry body under the Ministry of Commerce, supports the NACWC and was awarded the OPCW-The Hague Award 2024 for its efforts in advancing the CWC’s objectives.

About CWC:

• A multilateral treaty prohibiting the development, stockpiling, use, and transfer of chemical weapons.
• Came into force in 1997 with 193 member countries. Notably, Egypt, North Korea, and South Sudan have not ratified it.
• The CWC is more comprehensive than the Geneva Protocol (1925), as it bans all assistance and use of chemical weapons, including riot-control agents as weapons.

UNSC Resolution 1540:

• Mandates all countries to prevent non-state actors from obtaining nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, including their delivery mechanisms.