Weapons of Mass Destruction
Global Green USA Congratulates India for Completing its Chemical Weapons Destruction Program and Iraq for Declaring “Legacy Weapons”
Also Notes the Recent Accession to the Chemical Weapons Convention by the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, and Calls for the U.S. to Accelerate its CW Destruction Program
April 27, 2009 - Washington DC – Global Green USA, the U.S. national affiliate of Mikhail Gorbachev’s Green Cross International, congratulated India today for completing the elimination of its large stockpile of mustard agent weapons. Announced today by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, the international implementing body for the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), India’s successful weapons demilitarization program is the third of seven declared national CW arsenals to be fully destroyed. The first two countries to eliminate their CW stockpiles were Albania which finished its destruction program in 2007, and South Korea which completed its program last year.
The Director-General of the OPCW, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, also announced before the organization’s Executive Council last week in The Hague that Iraq, which had become the 186th State Party of the CWC on February 12, 2009, has become the 7th country to declare chemical weapons and related facilities which must by law be destroyed under the Convention. Pfirter stated: “Iraq submitted its initial declaration on 12 March 2009, and has declared two bunkers with filled and unfilled chemical weapons munitions, some precursors, as well as five former chemical weapons production facilities (CWPFs).”
The largest stockpiles declared under the CWC are those of the Russian Federation – 40,000 metric tons – and of the United States – over 28,500 metric tons. These two possessor states have now eliminated about 30% and 60% respectively of their arsenals, and will take several more years to complete their destruction programs. Libya, the 6th declared possessor state, has about 23 tons and has begun its destruction program. The actual sizes of the South Korean and Indian stockpiles are confidential, but are thought to be in the 500-1,000-ton range. Albania’s stockpile was the smallest – 16 tons of Chinese-supplied agents. The size of Iraq’s remaining CW stockpile remains unclear, but its weapons are unlikely to be in any usable condition.
Dr. Paul Walker, director of Global Green USA’s Security and Sustainability Program in Washington DC, pointed out that “with the elimination of over 43% now of the world’s known chemical weapons stockpiles in seven countries, a major step forward in global security, anti-terrorism, and nonproliferation has been taken. India’s successful completion of its incineration program of some 1,000 tons of mustard agents is significant in freeing the Asian Subcontinent of all deadly chemical weapons.”
Walker also emphasized the importance of universal adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention. “The recent accession of four countries – Lebanon, Iraq, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas – in the last four months brings the total to 188 countries which have now foresworn development, production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons. This leaves only seven countries – Angola, Egypt, Israel, Myanmar, North Korea, Somalia, and Syria – which have not yet fully joined the disarmament regime. It’s time for these countries to join and declare any chemical weapons and related facilities. Their accession will finally free the world of a whole class of weapons of mass destruction and present a model for verification and elimination of both nuclear and biological weapons.”
The United States, which has declared over 28,500 metric tons of chemical weapons at nine large stockpiles, has destroyed some 17,000 tons to date and has completed destruction at three of its stockpiles. But with recent funding much less than needed, the Defense Department has projected it could take another 15 years or more to complete the destruction program. Walker stated: “The Defense Department must accelerate the chemical weapons destruction program now with at least an additional $200-250 million annually so that we complete our effort by the congressionally mandated deadline of 2017; even then, the U.S. will be five years over the legally binding deadline of 2012.”
About Global Green USA
Global Green USA, headquartered in Santa Monica, California, is the US affiliate of Green Cross International founded by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1993. The “Security and Sustainability Program” (known internationally as the “Legacy of the Cold War Program”) is an international partnership with Green Cross Switzerland and Green Cross Russia to facilitate the safe and timely elimination of weapons stockpiles and related systems globally and to promote international nonproliferation efforts. The Security and Sustainability Program has managed a dozen local outreach and information offices at formerly secret weapons stockpiles in Russia for over a decade now and has facilitated “Track II” diplomatic meetings in The Hague, Geneva, Moscow, Washington, and elsewhere to promote safe and sound elimination of weapons stockpiles.
