[House Document 105-77]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 105-77


 
    CONVENTION ON THE PROHIBITION OF THE DEVELOPMENT, PRODUCTION, 
   STOCKPILING AND USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS AND ON THEIR DESTRUCTION

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  FROM

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              TRANSMITTING

 CERTIFICATION WITH RESPECT TO THE RESOLUTION OF ADVICE AND CONSENT TO 
 RATIFICATION OF THE CONVENTION ON THE PROHIBITION OF THE DEVELOPMENT, 
   PRODUCTION, STOCKPILING AND USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS AND ON THEIR 
 DESTRUCTION, ADOPTED BY THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES ON APRIL 24, 
                                  1997




   April 28, 1997.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the 
     Committee on International Relations and ordered to be printed


To the Congress of the United States:
    In accordance with the resolution of advice and consent to 
ratification of the Convention on the Prohibition of the 
Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical 
Weapons and on Their Destruction, adopted by the Senate of the 
United States on April 24, 1997, I hereby certify that:
    In connection with Condition (1), Effect of Article XXII, 
the United States has informed all other States Parties to the 
Convention that the Senate reserves the right, pursuant to the 
Constitution of the United States, to give its advice and 
consent to ratification of the Convention subject to 
reservations, notwithstanding Article XXII of the Convention.
    In connection with Condition (7), Continuing vitality of 
the Australia Group and National Export Controls: (i) nothing 
in the Convention obligates the United States to accept any 
modification, change in scope, or weakening of its national 
export controls; (ii) the United States understands that the 
maintenance of national restrictions on trade in chemicals and 
chemical production technology is fully compatible with the 
provisions of the Convention, including Article XI(2), and 
solely within the sovereign jurisdiction of the United States; 
(iii) the Convention preserves the right of State Parties, 
unilaterally or collectively, to maintain or impose export 
controls on chemicals and related chemical production 
technology for foreign policy or national security reasons, 
notwithstanding Article XI(2); and (iv) each Australia Group 
member, at the highest diplomatic levels, has officially 
communicated to the United States Government its understanding 
and agreement that export control and nonproliferation measures 
which the Australia Group has undertaken are fully compatible 
with the provisions of the Convention, including Article XI(2), 
and its commitment to maintain in the future such export 
controls and nonproliferation measures against non-Australia 
Group members.
    In connection with Condition (9), Protection of Advanced 
Biotechnology, the legitimate commercial activities and 
interests of chemical, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical firms 
in the United States are not being significantly harmed by the 
limitations of the Convention on access to, and production of, 
those chemicals and toxins listed in Schedule 1 of the Annex on 
chemicals.
    In connection with Condition (15), Assistance Under Article 
X, the United States shall not provide assistance under 
paragraph 7(a) of Article X, and, for any State Party the 
government of which is not eligible for assistance under 
chapter 2 of part II (relating to military assistance) or 
chapter 4 of part II (relating to economic support assistance) 
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961: (i) no assistance under 
paragraph 7(b) of Article X will be provided to the State 
Party; and (ii) no assistance under paragraph 7(c) of Article X 
other than medical antidotes and treatment will be provided to 
the State Party.
    In connection with Condition (18), Laboratory Sample 
Analysis, no sample collected in the United States pursuant to 
the Convention will be transferred for analysis to any 
laboratory outside the territory of the United States.
    In connection with Condition (26), Riot Control Agents, the 
United States is not restricted by the Convention in its use of 
riot control agents, including the use against combatants who 
are parties to a conflict, in any of the following cases: (i) 
the conduct of peacetime military operations within an area of 
ongoing armed conflict when the United States is not a party to 
the conflict (such as recent use of the United States Armed 
Forces in Somalia, Bosnia, and Rwanda); (ii) consensual 
peacekeeping operations when the use of force is authorized by 
the receiving state, including operations pursuant toChapter VI 
of the United Nations Charter; and (iii) peacekeeping operations when 
force is authorized by the Security Council under Chapter VII of the 
United Nations Charter.
    In connection with Condition (27), Chemical Weapons 
Destruction, all the following conditions are satisfied: (A) I 
have agreed to explore alternative technologies for the 
destruction of the United States stockpile of chemical weapons 
in order to ensure that the United States has the safest, most 
effective and environmentally sound plans and programs for 
meeting its obligations under the convention for the 
destruction of chemical weapons; (B) the requirement in section 
1412 of Public Law 99-145 (50 U.S.C. 1521) for completion of 
the destruction of the United States stockpile of chemical 
weapons by December 31, 2004, will be superseded upon the date 
the Convention enters into force with respect to the United 
States by the deadline required by the Convention of April 29, 
2007; (C) the requirement in Article III(1)(a)(v) of the 
Convention for a declaration by each State Party not later than 
30 days after the date the Convention enters into force with 
respect to that Party, on general plans of the State Party for 
destruction of its chemical weapons does not preclude in any 
way the United States from deciding in the future to employ a 
technology for the destruction of chemical weapons different 
than that declared under that Article; and (D) I will consult 
with the Congress on whether to submit a request to the 
Executive Council of the Organization for an extension of the 
deadline for the destruction of chemical weapons under the 
Convention, as provided under Part IV(A) of the Annex on 
Implementation and Verification to the Convention, if, as a 
result of the program of alternative technologies for the 
destruction of chemical munitions carried out under section 
8065 of the Department ofDefense Appropriations Act of 1997 (as 
contained in Public Law 104-208), I determine that alternatives to the 
incineration of chemical weapons are available that are safer and more 
environmentally sound but whose use would preclude the United States 
from meeting the deadlines of the Convention.
    In connection with Condition (28), Constitutional 
Protection Against Unreasonable Search and Seizure: (i) for any 
challenge inspection conducted on the territory of the United 
States pursuant to Article IX, where consent has been withheld, 
the United States National Authority will first obtain a 
criminal search warrant based upon probable cause, supported by 
oath or affirmation, and describing with particularity the 
place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized; 
and (ii) for any routine inspection of a declared facility 
under the Convention that is conducted on an involuntary basis 
on the territory of the United States, the United States 
National Authority first will obtain an administrative search 
warrant from a United States magistrate judge.
    In accordance with Condition (26) on Riot Control Agents, I 
have certified that the United States is not restricted by the 
Convention in its use of riot control agents in various 
peacetime and peacekeeping operations. These are situations in 
which the United States is not engaged in a use of force of a 
scope, duration and intensity that would trigger the laws of 
war with respect to U.S. forces.
    In connection with Condition (4)(A), Cost Sharing 
Arrangements, which calls for a report identifying all cost-
sharing arrangements with the Organization, I hereby report 
that because the Organization is not yet established and will 
not be until after entry into force of the Convention, as of 
this date there are no cost-sharing arrangements between the 
United States and the Organization to identify. However, we 
will be working with the Organization upon its establishment to 
develop such arrangements with it and will provide additional 
information to the Congress in the annual reports contemplated 
by this Condition.

                                                William J. Clinton.
    The White House, April 25, 1997.
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