Thesis advisor: Jennifer Erickson / The use of chemical agents in attacks in Syria, England, and Malaysia in the past several years have raised questions about the efficacy of international efforts, specifically the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), to prohibit the use of chemical weapons. These attacks highlight that even after the CWC’s entry into force, there is still more progress to be made towards the complete elimination of chemical weapons. Understanding the factors that influence a state’s decision to comply or not comply with the CWC is essential for moving forward with future disarmament efforts. Using case studies, this thesis examines issues of compliance and noncompliance regarding states’ chemical weapons programs and their ability to implement and enforce the CWC on a national level. The resulting analysis indicates that domestic and external pressures have a strong influence on states that comply with the CWC. The availability of resources, the presence of threats to security, and domestic norms are the most influential factors among states that do not comply with the CWC. / Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Arts and Sciences Honors Program. / Discipline: Chemistry.

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Yes / Julian P. Perry Robinson discusses the role of national and international authorities in the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Yes / Daniel Feakes assesses the success of the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and comments on the potential for such a regime for the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.

Yes / As the Fourth Review Conference of the Chemical Weapons Convention meets next month, state parties need to address mounting concerns about the potential development and use of law-enforcement weapons involving chemical agents that act on the central nervous system (CNS).

A holistic arms control (HAC) analytical framework was employed to explore the full range of mechanisms that could potentially be utilised to effectively regulate the development, stockpiling, transfer or use of riot control agents (RCAs), incapacitants and related means of delivery. From this analysis it is clear that the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and its attendant regime are the most appropriate and probably the most receptive mechanisms, at least in the short term, for the discussion of these concerns and the development of appropriate policy responses. However, the response of CWC States Parties to these issues is by no means certain and parallel processes should be established to explore alternative regulatory mechanisms with the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, UN drugs conventions, international and regional human rights instruments, international humanitarian law, and transfer controls potentially yielding positive results in the next five to ten year period. Other regimes that may well prove important in the longer term include: the international criminal court and other international criminal law entities; the UN Secretary General's investigation mechanism and other ad hoc UN investigatory mechanisms. A comprehensive HAC strategy for the regulation of RCAs, incapacitants and related means of delivery will also require active involvement of informed and activist civil society in societal verification; development and promotion of norms prohibiting the involvement of scientific and medical communities in weaponisation programmes intended for malign application; and far greater active engagement of such expert communities in relevant State and international policy development processes.

yes / Acceleration of the applications of cutting edge science is often most likely in situations involving conflict and warfare between different groups. That is the focus of this paper. It asks what we know of the past, present and possible future applications of advances in our understanding of the brain in the development of chemical weapons, and what might best be done to moderate the most dangerous aspects of that process at the present time, particularly by members of civil society. The paper therefore begins by examining this possibility of hostile manipulation of the brain in some detail. It then briefly reviews the current state of the chemical and biological arms control and disarmament regime as embodied in the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) following the 2016 8th Five Year Review Conference of the BTWC and in the lead up to the 2018 4th Five Year Review Conference of the CWC. Finally, our civil society initiative to assist in achieving a successful outcome of the 2018 CWC Review Conference is described. This initiative involves the production of a multi-authored edited book, to be published in advance of the Review Conference by the UK Royal Society of Chemistry that explores many of the critical issues facing the CWC States Parties as they seek to agree effective measures to prevent the development and use of chemical weapons, as the life and chemical sciences advance.