[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 22, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3261-S3262]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATE RESOLUTION 525--RECOGNIZING THE PROGRESS MADE BY STATES PARTIES
TO THE CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION ON THE OCCASION OF THE SECOND REVIEW
CONFERENCE
Mr. BIDEN (for himself and Mr. Lugar) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:
S. Res. 525
Whereas, on April 24, 1997, the Senate gave its advice and
consent to the ratification of the Convention on the
Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and
Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, with
Annexes, done at Paris January 13, 1993 (commonly known as
the ``Chemical Weapons Convention'' and the ``CWC'') (T. Doc.
103-21);
Whereas, the Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force
on April 29, 1997;
Whereas, since the Chemical Weapons Convention entered into
force, more than 27,000 metric tons of chemical weapons have
been destroyed, representing over 35 percent of the declared
chemical weapon stockpiles worldwide;
Whereas 11 chemical weapons destruction facilities are
currently in operation in 5 countries;
[[Page S3262]]
Whereas none of the 65 chemical weapons production
facilities declared by 12 States Parties are producing
chemical weapons, and all but 4 of the facilities have been
either verifiably destroyed or converted for peaceful
purposes in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention;
Whereas, on July 11, 2007, Albania became the first State
Party to completely eliminate its entire stockpile of
chemical weapons, with assistance from the Nunn-Lugar
Cooperative Threat Reduction Program;
Whereas membership in the Organization for the Prohibition
of Chemical Weapons now stands at 183 states, encompassing 98
percent of the world's population, up from 87 States Parties
when the Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force;
Whereas the First Special Session of the Conference of the
States Parties to Review the Operation of the Chemical
Weapons Convention was opened on April 28, 2003, and 113
States Parties participated in the First Review Conference;
and
Whereas the Second Review Conference of the Chemical
Weapons Convention opened on April 7, 2008, in The Hague,
Netherlands: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) reaffirms its support for the purposes, operations, and
undertakings of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which have
served the interests of international peace and security and
the national security interests of the United States;
(2) notes the progress that has been made by States Parties
to the Chemical Weapons Convention toward the elimination of
stockpiles of deadly chemical weapons in possessor states,
and urges continued progress toward that goal;
(3) calls on all States Parties--
(A) to continue their compliance with their obligations
under the Chemical Weapons Convention to permit the
monitoring and verification of the inactivation, and later
destruction or conversion, of all chemical weapons production
facilities, as well as the destruction of chemical weapons
stockpiles;
(B) to submit and allow verification of the consistency of
industrial chemical declarations; and
(C) to allow the effective monitoring of the non-diversion
of chemicals for activities prohibited under the Chemical
Weapons Convention; and
(4) calls on all States Parties to adopt the necessary
laws, regulations, and enforcement practices to ban chemical
weapons activities, pursuant to Article VIII of the Chemical
Weapons Convention and United Nations Security Council
Resolution 1540 (2004), and to afford appropriate legal and
regulatory assistance to other countries so as to achieve
full implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, 11 years ago this month, the Senate gave
its advice and consent to U.S. ratification of the Chemical Weapons
Convention, or CWC. Those of us who were here then remember all too
well how contentious and difficult a task that was.
Eleven years later, I have no doubt in my mind that the Senate did
the right thing. The CWC clearly serves the national security interests
of the U.S. It continues to enhance international peace and security.
Since the CWC entered into force, 183 States have signed on to the
treaty's commitment to forgo poison gas forever, and have subjected
themselves to the treaty's verification procedures. States Parties to
the CWC have destroyed over 27,000 tons of chemical weapons--over a
third of the world's declared stockpiles--and 11 destruction facilities
around the world are working to destroy even more. Sixty-five chemical
weapons production facilities that, without a Chemical Weapons
Convention, could have churned out still more poison gas are no longer
carrying out that horrible work, and all but 4 of those former weapons
production facilities have been verifiably destroyed or converted to
peaceful purposes. Most importantly, there has been no use of chemical
weapons by any country in the last 11 years, and no international
support for the use of such weapons by terrorist groups.
Under the able leadership of its Director-General, Ambassador Rogelio
Pfirter, the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons runs a
tight ship. It works with all States Parties to improve national
declarations, to mount effective inspections, and to secure the
adoption of effective national laws, regulations and procedures that
criminalize and guard against the production or stockpiling of chemical
weapons.
The States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention are gathering
over the next 2 weeks in The Netherlands for the Convention's Second
Review Conference. Senator Lugar and I have introduced this resolution
during the Review Conference in order to reaffirm the Senate's
commitment to the goals of the CWC. We are proud of the progress that
has been made so far, and we call upon all States Parties to continue
to meet their commitments under the CWC and to do all they can to
further the noble aims of the Convention.
I urge all my colleagues to support this resolution.
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