Where did the OPCW come from?

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons was thrust into the spotlight in recent weeks when it was required to oversee the destruction of chemical weapons in Syria, but it has been working since the ’90s as the body that implements the Chemical Weapons Convention — the first international treaty to outlaw an entire class of weapons.

What does the treaty do and who is a member?

The convention prohibits the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer or use of chemical weapons. It came into force in 1997 and has been ratified by 189 states. Of those, seven — Albania, India, Iraq, Libya, Russia and the United States, along with a country identified by the OPCW as only “a state party” but widely believed to be South Korea — have declared stockpiles of chemical weapons.

Syria is due to become a member state of the organisation on Monday and has acknowledged having chemical weapons.

Non-signatories to the treaty include North Korea, Angola, Egypt and South Sudan. Israel and Myanmar have signed but not ratified the convention.

What does the OPCW do?

The OPCW has conducted more than 5,000 inspections in 86 countries. It says 100 per cent of the declared chemical-weapon stockpiles have been inventoried and verified.

According to its statistics, 57,740 metric tonnes, or 81.1 per cent, of the world’s declared stockpile of chemical agents has been verifiably destroyed.

Thirteen OPCW members have also declared a total of 70 chemical-weapons-production facilities. The organisation says all have been taken out of commission, including 43 destroyed totally and 21 converted to peaceful purposes.

Who runs the OPCW?

The OPCW is funded by its member states and had a budget of about €74 million (S$125.2 million) in 2011. It employs some 500 people in The Hague, and its Director-General is Turkish diplomat Ahmet Uzumcu. AP