The first OPCW Review Conference of the Chemical Weapons Convention

Abstract

The First Special Session of the Conference of the States Parties to Review the Operation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (the First Review Conference) was convened by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) from 28 April to 9 May 2003 in The Hague, the Netherlands. This article examines the mandate of the Review Conference, as stipulated by the Chemical Weapons Convention (Convention or CWC), the preparations undertaken by the OPCW and its Member States, the issues that could have been raised, and those that were addressed in the Political Declaration and the Report adopted by the First Review Conference.