HQ of OPCW in The Hague

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an international agency, located in The Hague, The Netherlands. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Its mission is to promote membership of the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty which entered into force in 1997 and mandated the elimination of "the scourge of chemical weapons forever and to verify the destruction of the declared chemical weapons stockpiles within stipulated deadlines. The Chemical Weapons Convention ( CWC) is an Arms control agreement which outlaws the production stockpiling and use of chemical weapons Its full name is "[1] It organizes inspection procedures to verify compliance with the treaty, and provides technical support to countries who have inherited a legacy of chemical weapons stockpiles from previous governments.

On 7 September 2000 the OPCW and the United Nations signed a cooperation agreement outlining how they were to coordinate their activities. Events 1251 BC - A Solar eclipse on this date might mark the birth of legendary Heracles at Thebes Greece. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ^[1]

The sacking of the Director-General in 2002

Between its formation in 1997, and 2002, the OPCW was widely seen as a highly effective organization under its first Director-General José Bustani, so much so that he was unanimously re-elected in 2000 a year early. José Maurício Bustani is a Brazilian Diplomat, of primarily Lebanese extraction who was the director-general of the Organisation for the Prohibition [2]

Then in the beginning of 2002 the mood changed, and the United States, both behind the scenes and in public, organized to have the Director-General ousted before his second term had expired. The related event at the time was the build-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and its official pretext of Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction, which were taken to include chemical weapons. The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia This article concerns the Iraqi government's use possession and alleged intention of acquiring more types of Weapons of mass destruction (WMD during the presidency of Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of Chemical substances to kill injure or incapacitate an enemy. The OPCW was known to have been actively pursuing its mandate by negotiating with Iraq's leaders for their cooperation with the Chemical Weapons Convention, and this would have included inspections that could have verified their compliance with disarmament obligations, and jeopardized the case for war.

The public campaign calling for the removal of Director-General cited mismanagement and financial issues that threatened the existence of the organization. [3]. The method of his ousting was highly irregular and could only be done outside the constitution of the organization. [4] In 21 April 2002, a special session was called, at which Jose Bustani presented his defence[5] before being voted out of office 48 to 7 with 43 abstentions. Events 753 BC - Romulus and Remus found Rome ( traditional date) See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. [6] Three weeks later, the United States paid its 2002 contribution to the Organization[7].

It has been reported in many places that the behind-the-scenes campaign was orchestrated by the US Undersecretary for Arms Control, John Bolton, who made threats to other nations that if they did not vote for the resolution to remove the Director-General, he would arrange for the United States to destroy the organization completely. John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American public servant who has served in several Republican presidential administrations In practice, the United States has accounted for the vast majority of the weapons destroyed under the CWC as well as providing material support and funding for the reduction efforts of several other countries.

The United Kingdom, a major partner in the United States invasion of Iraq, provided valuable assistance in the campaign. Repeated questions in the United Kingdom Parliament from MPs failed to obtain any specific allegations against the Director-General beyond the fact that there had been a vote by members against him. The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories [8][9] After the event, all the official allegations evaporated. The following year the International Labour Organization found that his employment had been terminated on the insistent request of the United States and, while the procedure was technically correct, it constituted "an unacceptable violation of the principles on which international organisations' activities are founded. The International Labour Organization . . , by rendering officials vulnerable to pressures and to political change. " Accordingly, since he was not seeking reinstatement, he was awarded €50,000 in moral damages, plus pay for the remainder of his original term and legal costs. ^[2]

Faluja

In 2005, spokesman Peter Kaiser was publicly quoted questioning whether the use of white phosphorus in battle was legal under the Chemical Weapons Convention. This article is about the military applications of white phosphorus. He stated that if it had been used offensively against personnel in a manner that exploited the toxic or caustic properties of phosphorus, it would be forbidden. The use of white phosphorus is regulated, however, under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, not the Chemical Weapons Convention. The United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons ( CWC or CCWC) concluded at Geneva on October 10, 1980 and

References

1. ^ United Nations General Assembly Resolution session 55 (retrieved 2007-08-21)
2. ^ Judgment No. 2232. Membership For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly see General Assembly members International Labour Organization (23 July 2003). The International Labour Organization Events 1632 - Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe France. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Retrieved on 2007-08-22. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 392 - Arbogast has Eugenius elected Western Roman Emperor.

External links

• OPCW website