The Tenth Anniversary of the CWC's Entry into Force: Achievements and Problems

This publication is the output of the Conference on "The Tenth Anniversary of the Chemical Weapons Convention: Assessment and Perspectives", held in Rome on April 19, 2007. Ten years after its entry into force, the treaty, an instrument of both disarmament and non-proliferation, is widely seen as a success. Nevertheless, it has come up against a number of problems and issues that still have to be solved. The CWC experience remains a bright but lonely star in the not-so-populated firmament of international agreements controlling the worrisome phenomenon of weapons of mass destruction. The CWC success story should be used to the fullest as a paradigm of reference for arms control and disarmament in other fields, such as nuclear and biological weapons. The papers gathered and the Conference report contribute to the reader’s understanding of the most controversial aspects of disarmament law and policy.