2016 CPEO Military List Archive

From: Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>
Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2016 15:46:28 -0700 (PDT)
Reply: cpeo-military
Subject: [CPEO-MEF] CHEMWEAPONS, GLOBAL: Authority to destroy old chemical weapons in Panama
 
At the request of the Defense Department, the current draft of the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) contains language promising to destroy several old chemical munitions on San Jose Island, Panama. While at first this appears to be a good thing, the provision would take effect only if the Republic of Panama affirms "that the United States is not legally obligated and does not intend to destroy any other munitions, munitions constituents, and associated debris that may be located on San Jose Island as a result of research, development, and testing activities conducted on San Jose Island during the period of 1943 through 1947.”

I’m not a lawyer, but this seems o run counter to the Chemical Weapons Convention and might set a precedent for the U.S. to avoid its treaty obligations elsewhere. - LS

Here is the language:



Subtitle C—Chemical Demilitarization Matters
SEC. 1421. AUTHORITY TO DESTROY CERTAIN SPECIFIED WORLD WAR II-ERA UNITED STATES-ORIGIN CHEMICAL MUNITIONS LOCATED ON SAN JOSE ISLAND, REPUBLIC OF PANAMA.

(a) Authority.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary of Defense may destroy the chemical munitions described in subsection (c).

(2) EX GRATIA ACTION.—The action authorized by this section is “ex gratia” on the part of the United States, as the term “ex gratia” is used in section 321 of the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (10 U.S.C. 2701 note).

(3) CONSULTATION BETWEEN SECRETARY OF DEFENSE AND SECRETARY OF STATE.—The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State shall consult and develop any arrangements with the Republic ofPanama with respect to this section.

(b) Conditions.—The Secretary of Defense may exercise the authority under subsection (a) only if the Republic ofPanama has—

(1) revised the declaration of the Republic of Panama under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction to indicate that the chemical munitions described in subsection (c) are “old chemical weapons” rather than “abandoned chemical weapons”; and

(2) affirmed, in writing, that it understands—

(A) that the United States intends only to destroy the munitions described in subsections (c) and (d); and

(B) that the United States is not legally obligated and does not intend to destroy any other munitions, munitions constituents, and associated debris that may be located on San Jose Island as a result of research, development, and testing activities conducted on San Jose Island during the period of 1943 through 1947.

(c) Chemical Munitions.—The chemical munitions described in this subsection are the eight United States-origin chemical munitions located on San Jose Island, Republic of Panama, that were identified in the 2002 Final Inspection Report of the Technical Secretariat of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

(d) Limited Incidental Authority To Destroy Other Munitions.—In exercising the authority under subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense may destroy other munitions located on San Jose Island, Republic of Panama, but only to the extent essential and required to reach and destroy the chemical munitions described in subsection (c).

(e) Funds.—Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2017 for the Department of Defense for Chemical Agents and Munitions Destruction, Defense by section 1402, up to $30,000,000 may be used to carry out the authority in subsection (a).

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice/Fax: 650/961-8918 
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

_______________________________________________
Military mailing list
Military@lists.cpeo.org
http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/military-cpeo.org
  Prev by Date: [CPEO-MEF] PFCs: "Schumer calls for expedited probe of contaminated Newburgh [NY] water supply"
Next by Date: [CPEO-MEF] PFCs: "Air Force officials expand search for contaminants around Joint Base Cape Cod" MA
  Prev by Thread: [CPEO-MEF] PFCs: "Schumer calls for expedited probe of contaminated Newburgh [NY] water supply"
Next by Thread: [CPEO-MEF] PFCs: "Air Force officials expand search for contaminants around Joint Base Cape Cod" MA

CPEO Home
CPEO Lists
Author Index
Date Index
Thread Index