Non-State Actors and Chemical Terrorism.

 

For more than 20 years, the issue of terrorist acquisition and use of chemical weapons has been on the agenda of the OPCW and its Member States. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, against the United States and the anthrax letters sent through the US mail system shortly thereafter triggered a swift response by the OPCW. In early November the Director General submitted a note for the December 2001 Executive Council session, which contains an analysis of the provisions of the CWC “which apply to the danger of the terrorist use of chemical weapons, with a view to assisting in the development of an action plan for the OPCW’s contribution to the global struggle against terrorism.” 

The paper identified CWC universality, the full implementation of the CW destruction norm (CWC Articles IV and V), Article VI (on activities not prohibited), the internalization norm expressed in Article VII, the assistance and protection provisions under Article X, and the international cooperation norm in Article XI as contributing to global antiterrorist efforts. The Executive Council decision taken during its December 2001 session followed the classification of CWC provisions most relevant in the fight against CW terrorism. It also “established an open-ended working group … and decided that the full and effective implementation of all the provisions of the Convention was in itself a contribution to global anti-terrorist efforts.” Given its focus on Cold War-type military CW stockpiles and their verified destruction, it should not come as a surprise that the CWC does not explicitly reference non-state actor, or terrorist, acquisition or use of CW. Yet, Article VII explicitly requires Parties to internalize obligations stemming from the treaty to their domestic legal systems by way of implementing legislation and other measures. As a result, the CWC prohibits the development, acquisition and use of CW not only for states but also via the internalization norm expressed in CWC Articles VI and VII for nonstate actors. Ever since the EC decision in late 2001, OPCW activities to reduce the risks from CW terrorism in CWC States Parties and in support of the global fight against terrorism are related to one of three categories: 

1. classification and attribution of meaning,
2.  capacity building, and 
3. collaboration with the United Nations and other international organizations.

 The following sections will briefly describe the evolution of these three categories.