§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what attempts have been made by the United Kingdom to encourage the United States administration to agree to intrusive inspections of chemical sites in the US with regard to the International Chemical Weapons Convention. [75826]
§ Mr. MacshaneThe Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) entered into force in 1997. Industrial inspections did not begin in the United States until 2000, because the necessary national implementing legislation had not 357W been put in place. The United Kingdom had consistently pressed the United States to put this legislation in place at the earliest opportunity. Since the implementing legislation has been in place, the United States has accepted all inspections of its chemical sites required by the Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is responsible for ensuring the implementation of the Convention.
From entry into force of the CWC and 31 December 2001, the OPCW conducted 1117 inspections. Of these 374 (33 per cent.) were in the United States. In addition, OPCW inspectors are at each of the United States' chemical weapons destruction facilities at all times, conducting round-the-clock monitoring.