Workshop 3: The CWC and advances in science and technology
The third workshop will offer an interdisciplinary framework to analyse the impact of advances in science and technology on the scope as well as the implementation of the CWC. At the same time, it will address the effects that the CWC has on progress in relevant fields of science and technology.
Advances in the life sciences, chemistry, engineering and chemical manufacturing may all affect the scope of the CWC’s prohibitions as well as the way its provisions are being applied.
- How robust is the General Purpose Criterion in the light of new scientific discoveries?
- How can the CWC cope with the challenges posed by emerging concepts of using toxic chemicals (e.g., “non-lethal agents”) for law-enforcement purposes?
- Can the OPCW’s verification regime keep up with the changes in chemical manufacturing, such as new technologies, new biologically-active compounds, or trends in globalisation that are changing the structural pattern of worldwide chemical production and trade?
- Can progress in science and technology help improve the protection against new threats such as potential terrorist attacks with chemical weapons?
- Can it help making verification of the CWC more effective?
But, at the same time, what is the effect of the CWC’s regulatory mechanisms on scientific research? Is there a danger of over-regulating scientific research and thus thwarting scientific progress? And does the CWC, as it promises, contribute to more effective international cooperation in the chemical field? The workshop will contribute to the international assessment of the impact of advances in science and technology on the global chemical weapons ban, and thereby help States Parties of the CWC in their preparation for the 2nd CWC Review Conference.