This article is written by Jázmin Czigányik, a WES 2025 student journalist and writer for Orange Magazine.
'The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), recipient of the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize, has worked on the control and demolition of chemical weapons for over 25 years. It was established as the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Former Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü however, has expressed concerns over the containment of other weapons of mass destruction, such as biological and nuclear weapons. Mr Üzümcü has participated in the life-saving work of arms containment for most of his career. In his speech at the Warwick Economics Summit in January, 2025, he shared important lessons about the past 30 years of chemical weapons control, as well as necessary steps to be taken to dismantle other weapons of mass destruction.
He also regarded the current situation for chemical weapons as somewhat worrying as the new Syrian government is yet to declare the location of its potential stockpiles, and Egypt and Israel are not parties to the convention yet (Israel signed the convention but has not ratified it as of January 2025).
Efforts to contain the use of chemical weapons date back as early as 1675, where the use of poison bullets first developed by Leonardo da Vinci was prohibited (UN Office for Disarmament). The use of chemical weapons was condemned and prohibited on several occasions, for instance through the legally binding document of the Geneva Protocol in 1925 which prohibited the use of chemical and biological weapons in warfare. Despite this extensive history of containment, there are still countries potentially owning or developing instruments of chemical warfare.
World War I had destructive chemical warfare instruments deployed, but since then, much more effective conventional weapons have been developed, and chemical weapons are no longer determinative in warfare. However, their power lies in psychological effects: they create terror among civilians. One of the most important regulations in this field currently in force is the Chemical Weapons Convention, which was signed in 1997 and currently has 193 states as parties. Exceptions are South Sudan, North Korea and Egypt. The convention is functionally similar to the Geneva Protocol but is more comprehensive as it prohibits not only the use but also the stockpiling and development of chemical weapons.
One of the obstacles to controlling this activity is dual-use technology, meaning that certain chemicals are important for civilian use in industrial activity, but have the potential to be used for military purposes. An example of such dual use potential is nickel and chromium, which are needed for the production of vessels and reactors but are highly toxic and can be used for military purposes. Because of these chemicals being used in peaceful industry, it is often difficult for monitoring organisations to notice undeclared use or development of chemical weapons.
In the words of Mr Üzümcü, the current system of chemical weapons containment functions on the basis of trust. Whether the declarations of member states on chemical weapons are accurate is not strictly verified. Declarations are considered accurate unless there is a reason to assume that they are not. This system has been functional so far, but in theory, because of the lack of regular inspections, a state willing to develop chemical weapons would be able to advance quite far before international arms-control organisations would know it.
The successful enforcement of the convention is largely thanks to the work of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. One of the most notable achievements is the chemical disarmament in Syria, which was especially difficult because disarmament took place amid an active conflict. All chemical weapons declared by states party to the Chemical Weapons Convention, including Syria, were destroyed. The U.S. invested over 50 billion dollars in the programme.
However, it is more than likely that the country still possesses chemical weapons. Sadly, these weapons have been used in the country on several occasions. In her briefing to the Security Council on the 5th of December 2024 United Nations’ disarmament chief Izumi Nakamitsu said that international organizations have been unable to verify the destruction of all chemical warfare agents in Syria. The transitional government declared its intention to share the location of its stockpiles with international disarmament organisations but has not yet done so. The next step for chemical disarmament is for the OPCW is to send a group of experts to the country to collect relevant information on chemical warfare related sites. Current Director-General of the organisation Fernando Arias declared that this would be done as soon as the security situation allows it.
The lessons of the fight against chemical weapons are important when facing issues with the containment of other types of weapons of mass destruction. Nuclear weapons are of the biggest concern with almost 4000 warheads currently active.
The most important agreement regulating these weapons is the Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. It came into force in 1970 and is still intact. The Treaty established Nuclear States which are the United States, Russia (originally the Soviet Union), China, France and the United Kingdom, as well as Non-nuclear States.
Non-nuclear States are forbidden to develop or possess any nuclear weapons and Nuclear States in return share their technology with them for peaceful use. However, compared to the Chemical Weapons Convention there is an important and unfortunate difference: even though Nuclear States committed to nuclear disarmament in the future, no deadline or timeframe was set. This resulted in a delay of efforts to disarm. In the timeframe of over 50 years since the treaty has entered into force nuclear weapons are still possessed and developed by these states.
Moreover, important states with nuclear weaponry, namely India, Pakistan, Iran and North-Korea, as well as Israel are not parties to the treaty. Therefore, a legal instrument with a set timeframe for disarmament would be urgent for global security, as well as increased diplomatic efforts to come to an agreement with non-parties to the treaty.
This is also what Mr Üzümcü urges: in a reference to the 2023 film Oppenheimer, he quoted: the protagonist says “I have become death” – and indeed he has become just that. Nuclear technology has been used to create environmentally friendly energy and in medicine to save lives, but nuclear weapons of mass destruction are threatening to humanity and increased efforts at containing it are necessary.
The views and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Warwick Economics Summit.
Resources recommended for further reading:
Current OPCW Director-General on the situation of chemical weapons in Syria:
UN press release on chemical weapons in Syria:
Arms Control Association’s Factsheet on the Chemical Weapons Convention:
An overview of legal instruments and documents related to chemical weapons control:
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