Three Decades of Chemical Weapons Destruction: Successes, Failures, and Lessons Learned

Abstract Over thirty years ago the world began the destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles, one of the major goals of the new Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The author, very involved in stockpile demilitarization since at least the first US on-site inspection of the easternmost Russian stockpile in Shchuch’ye in 1994, describes the challenges, successes, and failures of these years, many unforeseen by negotiators who set a ten-year deadline for chemical weapons destruction. Despite these many hurdles—technical, financial, and political—the strength of the CWC and its 193 States Parties shines through as it verifies the complete destruction of stockpiles in eight officially declared possessor states by 2023. The article concludes with primary and interrelated goals for further strengthening the CWC, the most comprehensive, multilateral disarmament treaty to date.