ARTICLE–BY–ARTICLE ANALYSIS OF
ARTICLE III – DECLARATIONS
Article III consists of two paragraphs. Paragraph 1, in five subparagraphs, provides for declarations of chemical weapons, including old and abandoned chemical weapons, chemical weapons production facilities, and facilities or establishments that have been designed, constructed or used primarily for development of chemical weapons since 1 January 1946. Paragraph 2 exempts certain sea–dumped or land–buried chemical weapons from these declarations.
Paragraph 1 of Article III, in five subparagraphs, requires each State Party to submit to the Organization, not later than 30 days after the Convention enters into force for it, declarations with respect to chemical weapons, old chemical weapons and abandoned chemical weapons, chemical weapons production facilities, chemical weapons development facilities and riot control agents.
Subparagraph 1(a), in five parts, requires declarations with respect to chemical weapons. This subparagraph further provides, in each of these parts, that the declarations are to be made in accordance with their respective provisions in the Verification Annex containing the detailed procedures for the declarations.
Part (i) of subparagraph 1(a) requires each State Party to declare whether it owns or possesses any chemical weapons, or whether there are any chemical weapons located in any place under its jurisdiction or control. Note that this declaration is a simple yes–or–no statement. If a State Party answers yes to this declaration, then it must make a more specific declaration pursuant to part (ii) and/or part (iii). In general, part (ii) requires specific information about the State Party's chemical weapons while part (iii) requires information about chemical weapons of another State located on the State Party's territory.
Part (ii) of subparagraph 1(a) requires each State Party to specify the precise location, aggregate quantity and detailed inventory of chemical weapons it owns or possesses, or that are located in any place under its jurisdiction or control, in accordance with paragraphs 1 through 3 of Part IV(A) of the Verification Annex, except for those chemical weapons referred to in part (iii), i.e. those that are owned and possessed by another State and located in a place under the jurisdiction or control of another State.
Part (iii) of subparagraph 1(a) requires each State Party to report any chemical weapons on its territory that are owned and possessed by another State and located in any place under the jurisdiction or control of another State, in accordance with paragraph 4 of Part IV(A) of the Verification Annex. Note that for these chemical weapons, pursuant to paragraph 4 of Part IV(A) of the Verification Annex, a State Party is not obligated to supply all of the information required pursuant to part (ii) if it is not able. However, the State Party must then provide the reasons for its inability to provide this information.
The purpose of this exception is to recognize that where there are chemical weapons on a State Party's territory that are clearly under the control of another State, the State Party may be unable to provide a high level of detail (because of, e.g., legal or political constraints) regarding such chemical weapons. Note, however, that the exemption is narrowly drawn, i.e. for the lesser burden to apply, the chemical weapons must meet three criteria – – ownership by another State, possession by another State, and location in a place under the jurisdiction or control of another State (e.g. another State's military base on the territory of the State Party), as well as be unable to obtain detailed information. Note also that if the other State is a State Party, then that State Party, i.e. the non–territorial State, has an unqualified obligation pursuant to part (ii) to specify the location, aggregate quantity and detailed inventory of the chemical weapons.
Part (iv) of subparagraph 1(a) requires each State Party to declare whether it has transferred or received, directly or indirectly, any chemical weapons since 1 January 1946 and specify the transfer or receipt of such weapons, in accordance with paragraph 5 of Part IV (A) of the Verification Annex. Note that this means that all transfers or receipts of chemical weapons during or prior to World War II do not need to be reported.
Part (v) of subparagraph 1(a) requires each State Party to provide its general plan for destruction of chemical weapons that it owns or possesses, or that are located in any place under its jurisdiction or control, in accordance with paragraph 6 of Part IV (A) of the Verification Annex.
Subparagraph 1(b) of Article III, in three parts, requires declarations with respect to old chemical weapons and abandoned chemical weapons. (These chemical weapons are defined in paragraphs 5 and 6 of Article II, respectively.) This subparagraph further provides, in each of these parts, that the declarations are to be made in accordance with their respective provisions in the Verification Annex containing the detailed procedures for the declarations.
Part (i) of subparagraph 1(b) requires each State Party to declare whether it has on its territory old chemical weapons and provide all available information in accordance with paragraph 3 of Part IV(B) of the Verification Annex.
Part (ii) of subparagraph 1(b) requires each State Party to declare whether there are abandoned chemical weapons on its territory and provide all available information in accordance with paragraph 8 of Part IV(B) of the Verification Annex.
Part (iii) of subparagraph 1(b) requires each State Party to declare whether it has abandoned chemical weapons on the territory of other States and provide all available information in accordance with paragraph 10 of Part IV(B) of the Verification Annex.
Subparagraph 1(c) of Article III, in seven parts, requires declarations with respect to chemical weapons production facilities. This subparagraph further provides, in each of these parts, that the declarations are to be made in accordance with their respective provisions in the Verification Annex containing the detailed procedures for the declarations.
Part (i) of subparagraph 1(c) requires each State Party to declare whether it has or has had any chemical weapons production facility under its ownership or possession, or that is or has been located in any place under its jurisdiction or control at any time since 1 January 1946. Note that, as with chemical weapons, this declaration is a simple yes–or–no statement, which if answered "yes" requires more specific declarations with regard to the State Party's chemical weapons production facilities and those of other States located on its territory. Note also that, unlike chemical weapons, a State Party must declare chemical weapons production facilities that no longer exist, provided they existed subsequent to 1 January 1946.
Part (ii) of subparagraph 1(c) requires each State Party to specify any chemical weapons production facility it has or has had under its ownership or possession or that is or has been located in any place under its jurisdiction or control at any time since 1 January 1946, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Part V of the Verification Annex, except for those facilities referred to in part (iii), i.e. those that are owned and possessed by another State and located in a place under the jurisdiction or control of another State.
Part (iii) of subparagraph 1(c) requires each State Party to report any chemical weapons production facility on its territory that another State has or has had under its ownership and possession and that is or has been located in any place under the jurisdiction or control of another State at any time since 1 January 1946, in accordance with paragraph 2 of Part V of the Verification Annex.
Note that, as with chemical weapons, for these chemical weapons production facilities, pursuant to paragraph 2 of Part V of the Verification Annex, a State Party is not obligated to supply all of the information required pursuant to part (ii) if it is not able, but in such cases, the State Party must then state the reasons for its inability to provide this information. (The reasons for this exemption are discussed with regard to chemical weapons in the analysis of part (iii) of subparagraph 1(a).)
Part (iv) of subparagraph 1(c) requires each State Party to declare whether it has transferred or received, directly or indirectly, any equipment for the production of chemical weapons since
1 January 1946 and specify the transfer or receipt of such equipment, in accordance with paragraphs 3 to 5 of Part V of the Verification Annex. Note that this means that all transfers or receipts of such equipment during or prior to World War II do not need to be reported.
Part (v) of subparagraph 1(c) requires each State Party to provide its general plan for destruction of any chemical weapons production facility it owns or possesses, or that is located in any place under its jurisdiction or control, in accordance with paragraph 6 of Part V of the Verification Annex. Note that this plan must be provided even if the State Party plans to convert the facility for peaceful purposes, pursuant to paragraph 13 of Article V, since the Conference may turn down its request to do so.
Part (vi) of subparagraph 1(c) requires each State Party to specify actions to be taken for closure of any chemical weapons production facility it owns or possesses, or that is located in any place under its jurisdiction or control, in accordance with paragraph 1(i) of Part V of the Verification Annex.
Part (vii) of subparagraph 1(c) requires each State Party to provide its general plan for any temporary conversion of any chemical weapons production facility it owns or possesses, or that is located in any place under its jurisdiction or control, into a chemical weapons destruction facility, in accordance with paragraph 7 of Part V of the Verification Annex.
Subparagraph 1(d) of Article III requires a declaration that specifies the precise location, nature and general scope of activities of any facility or establishment under its ownership or possession, or located in any place under its jurisdiction or control, and that has been designed, constructed or used since 1 January 1946 primarily for development of chemical weapons. The term "primarily" is intended to exclude facilities that only had a minimal or otherwise peripheral association with chemical weapons development, such as wind tunnels that tested bombs designed to contain chemical agents. This subparagraph also states that such declaration shall include, inter alia, laboratories and test and evaluation sites.
Subparagraph 1(e) of Article III requires the following declaration with respect to riot control agents: specification of the chemical name, structural formula and Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) registry number, if assigned, of each chemical it holds for riot control purposes. ("Riot control agent" is defined in paragraph 7 of Article II.) This subparagraph also states that this declaration shall be updated not later than 30 days after any change becomes effective.
Paragraph 2 of Article III exempts specific sea–dumped and land–buried chemical weapons from the obligations of Article III and the Verification Annex. Specifically, this paragraph states that the provisions of Article III and the relevant provisions of Part IV of the Verification Annex shall not, at the discretion of a State Party, apply to chemical weapons buried on its territory before 1 January 1977 and which remain buried, or which had been dumped at sea before 1 January 1985.
The purpose of this paragraph is, in conjunction with paragraph 17 of Article IV, to relieve States Parties of the potentially dangerous and expensive obligation to destroy chemical weapons that are considered to pose less risk to the object and purpose of the Convention. The cutoff dates for exclusion were developed taking into account the dates of the most recently admitted burial or dumping by the negotiating states and the desire to preclude states from disposing of chemical weapons in such a manner immediately before the expected entry in force of the Convention.