Does the CWC provide for assistance if a state is threatened with a chemical weapons attack?
Article X of the CWC maintains that states have the right to request assistance if they are being threatened with a chemical weapons attack or have suffered an attack in which chemical weapons or riot control agents were used. After a rapid investigation to substantiate the nature of the assistance needed, the Technical Secretariat of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons would coordinate any emergency assistance forthcoming from an established voluntary program, including financial, technical, and humanitarian aid. Help provided could include protective and decontamination equipment, detection systems, and medical antidotes. Article X also stipulates the right of states to maintain a protective research capacity, as well as protective equipment. In addition to the assistance fund, the international monitoring organization maintains a database of information on protection against chemical weapons to which treaty members have free access.
