Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), international organization established by the Chemical Weapons Convention (adopted 1992, entered into force 1997) to implement and enforce the terms of the international treaty, which prohibits the use, stockpiling, or transfer of chemical weapons by signatory states. The OPCW was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013. Its headquarters are located in The Hague, Netherlands.
The OPCW works to eliminate chemical weapons stockpiles, to ensure the nonproliferation of existing stockpiles, to assist states in protecting themselves against chemical weapons attacks, and to promote international cooperation in the use of chemistry for peaceful purposes. The OPCW is authorized to perform inspections to verify that signatory states are complying with the convention, which includes a commitment to grant inspectors full access to chemical weapons sites and a common pledge to destroy all stocks of chemical weapons. The OPCW also performs testing of sites and victims of suspected chemical weapons attacks. By the 2001 Relationship Agreement between the OPCW and the United Nations, the OPCW reports on its inspections and other activities to the UN through the office of the secretary-general.
During the two decades after its founding, the OPCW conducted several thousand inspections around the world. The activities of the OPCW are conducted by three main bodies: the Executive Council, which administers the daily activities of the OPCW; the Technical Secretariat, which is charged with verifying states’ compliance with the convention; and the Conference of the States Parties, which is the highest decision-making body of the organization.
In 2013 the OPCW was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons.” The Nobel Committee also lauded the OPCW and the treaty it enforces for having made the use of chemical weapons “taboo under international law.” The announcement of the prize came in the context of the OPCW’s direct involvement in the inspection and planned destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles in Syria following the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government in that country’s civil war.