Arms Control

Since 1928, an international treaty has banned the use of chemical weapons but not their development and production. The number of countries suspected of having or developing such weapons has risen to 24. A new multilateral treaty, the Chemical Weapons Convention, would require the destruction of chemical weapons and the means to produce them. The United States, although a signatory, has yet to ratify the convention. Earlier, the United States signed bilateral agreements with Russia aimed at destroying both countries' chemical weapon stockpiles. This report evaluates (1) the progress made in implementing the bilateral agreements with Russia; (2) the status of the Chemical Weapons Convention; and (3) the costs incurred by the United States in preparing for and implementing the treaties.

GAO found that: (1) the implementation of the bilateral agreements has progressed slowly due to Russia's significant technical, political, and financial obstacles; (2) although Russia and the United States have begun to make progress in a number of areas, much uncertainty still exists over Russia's ability to safely destroy its chemical weapons; (3) although most countries have signed the Chemical Weapons Convention, several key countries suspected of developing chemical weapons have not signed it; (4) it is unlikely that the convention will enter into force by January 1995, since only a small number of signatory countries have submitted their instruments of ratification; (5) the United States has funded the largest and most ambitious research and development program to develop effective international verification; and (6) the U.S. government is missing potential opportunities for cost savings from its funding of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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