Increasing Transparency and Building Confidence: The OPCW Experience

The mission of the International Cooperation and Assistance Division of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is to implement the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in regard to: assistance and protection; international cooperation; and implementation support to States Parties. These three elements are integral parts of the mandate of the OPCW. While the activities carried out in the first two areas flow directly from the provisions of Articles X (Assistance and Protection) and XI (Economic and Technological Development) of the Convention, the mandate for implementation support emanates from provisions scattered throughout the text including Articles VII (National Implementation Measures) and VIII (The Organization). The rights of the States Parties under the provisions referred to above are regarded as being balancing elements in respects of the obligations assumed by States Parties under the CWC.