Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare

The history of the serious efforts to achieve chemical disarmament that culminated in the conclusion of the Chemical Weapons Convention began more than a century ago. Chemical weapons were used on a massive scale during World War I, resulting in more than 100,000 fatalities and a million casualties. However, chemical weapons were not used on the battleground in Europe in World War II. Following World War II, and with the advent of the nuclear debate, several countries gradually came to the realisation that the marginal value of having chemical weapons in their arsenals was limited, while the threat posed by the availability and proliferation of such weapons made a comprehensive ban desirable. Adopted in 1993, the Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force on 29 April 1997. It determined, “ for the sake of all mankind, to exclude completely the possibility of the use of chemical weapons.” (Preamble) The States Parties to this Convention established the Organisation for the Prohib...

  Chemical weapons are munitions and other devices which use the toxic effects of chemicals on living organisms to cause death or other harm. The definition of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (hereinafter referred to as “CWC”) only includes toxic effects on human beings and animals, not effects on plants (e.g., herbicides). In order to qualify as a chemical weapon, the toxic effect of the munitions must not necessarily be lethal. Other forms of harm (incapacitation) are sufficient even if they are only temporary. Whether chemicals which under normal conditions of use only cause short term irritation (e.g., tear gas) are also covered is controversial. Toxic chemicals can spread over large areas and affect large numbers of people. Chemical weapons are therefore considered as “weapons of mass destruction”. 2. The Way to the CWC The use of chemical weapons during the First World War (in t...