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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release April 25, 1997

TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:

In accordance with the resolution of advice and consent to ratification of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, adopted by the Senate of the United States on April 24, 1997, I hereby certify that:

            In connection with Condition (1), Effect of Article 
       XXII, the United States has informed all other States 
       Parties to the Convention that the Senate reserves the 
       right, pursuant to the Constitution of the United States, 
       to give its advice and consent to ratification of the 
       Convention subject to reservations, notwithstanding Article 
       XXII of the Convention.
  
            In connection with Condition (7), Continuing Vitality 
       of the Australia Group and National Export Controls: (i) 
       nothing in the Convention obligates the United States to 
       accept any modification, change in scope, or weakening of 
       its national export controls; (ii) the United States 
       understands that the maintenance of national restrictions 
       on trade in chemicals and chemical production technology is 
       fully compatible with the provisions of the Convention, 
       including Article XI(2), and solely within the sovereign 
       jurisdiction of the United States; (iii) the Convention 
       preserves the right of State Parties, unilaterally or 
       collectively, to maintain or impose export controls on 
       chemicals and related chemical production technology for 
       foreign policy or national security reasons, 
       notwithstanding Article XI(2); and (iv) each Australia 
       Group member, at the highest diplomatic levels, has 
       officially communicated to the United States Government its 
       understanding and agreement that export control and 
       nonproliferation measures which the Australia Group has 
       undertaken are fully compatible with the provisions of the 
       Convention, including Article XI(2), and its commitment to 
       maintain in the future such export controls and 
       nonproliferation measures against non-Australia Group 
       members.
  
            In connection with Condition (9), Protection of 
       Advanced Biotechnology, the legitimate commercial 
       activities and interests of chemical, biotechnology, and 
       pharmaceutical firms in the United States are not being 
       significantly harmed by the limitations of the Convention 
       on access to, and production of, those chemicals and toxins 
       listed in Schedule 1 of the Annex on chemicals.
  
            In connection with Condition (15), Assistance Under
       Article X, the United States shall not provide assistance 
       under paragraph 7(a) of Article X, and, for any State Party 
       the government of which is not eligible for assistance 
       under chapter 2 of part II (relating to military 
       assistance) or chapter 4 of part II (relating to economic 
       support assistance) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961: 
       (i) no assistance under paragraph 7(b) of Article X will be 
       provided to the State Party; and (ii) no assistance under 
       paragraph 7(c) of Article X other than medical antidotes 
       and treatment will be provided to the State Party.
  
            In connection with Condition (18), Laboratory Sample 
       Analysis, no sample collected in the United States pursuant 
       to the Convention will be transferred for analysis to any 
       laboratory outside the territory of the United States.
  
            In connection with Condition (26), Riot Control 
       Agents, the United States is not restricted by the 
       Convention in its use of riot control agents, including the 
       use against combatants who are parties to a conflict, in 
       any of the following cases: (i) the conduct of peacetime 
       military operations within an area of ongoing armed 
       conflict when the United States is not a party to the 
       conflict (such as recent use of the United States Armed 
       Forces in Somalia, Bosnia, and Rwanda); (ii) consensual 
       peacekeeping operations when the use of force is authorized 
       by the receiving state, including operations pursuant to  
       Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter; and (iii) 
       peacekeeping operations when force is authorized by the 
       Security Council under Chapter VII of the United Nations 
       Charter.
  
            In connection with Condition (27), Chemical Weapons 
       Destruction, all the following conditions are satisfied: 
       (A) I have agreed to explore alternative technologies for 
       the destruction of the United States stockpile of chemical 
       weapons in order to ensure that the United States has the 
       safest, most effective and environmentally sound plans and 
       programs for meeting its obligations under the convention 
       for the destruction of chemical weapons; (B) the 
       requirement in section 1412 of Public Law 99-145 (50 U.S.C. 
       1521) for completion of the destruction of the United 
       States stockpile of chemical weapons by December 31, 2004, 
       will be superseded upon the date the Convention enters into 
       force with respect to the United States by the deadline 
       required by the Convention of April 29, 2007; (C) the 
       requirement in Article III(1)(a)(v) of the Convention for a 
       declaration by each State Party not later than 30 days 
       after the date the Convention enters into force with 
       respect to that Party, on general plans of the State Party 
       for destruction of its chemical weapons does not preclude 
       in any way the United States from deciding in the future to 
       employ a technology for the destruction of chemical weapons 
       different than that declared under that Article; and (D) I 
       will consult with the Congress on whether to submit a 
       request to the Executive Council of the Organization for an 
       extension of the deadline for the destruction of chemical 
       weapons under the Convention, as provided under Part IV(A) 
       of the Annex on Implementation and Verification to the 
       Convention, if, as a result of the program of alternative 
       technologies for the destruction of chemical munitions 
       carried out under section 8065 of the Department of 
       Defense Appropriations Act of 1997 (as contained in Public 
       Law 104-208), I determine that alternatives to the 
       incineration of chemical weapons are available that are 
       safer and more environmentally sound but whose use would 
       preclude the United States from meeting the deadlines of 
       the Convention.
  
            In connection with Condition (28), Constitutional 
       Protection Against Unreasonable Search and Seizure: (i) for 
       any challenge inspection conducted on the territory of the 
       United States pursuant to Article IX, where consent has 
       been withheld, the United States National Authority will 
       first obtain a criminal search warrant based upon probable 
       cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and describing 
       with particularity the place to be searched and the persons 
       or things to be seized; and (ii) for any routine inspection 
       of a declared facility under the Convention that is 
       conducted on an involuntary basis on the territory of the 
       United States, the United States National Authority first 
       will obtain an administrative search warrant from a United 
       States magistrate judge.
  
       In accordance with Condition (26) on Riot Control Agents, 

I have certified that the United States is not restricted by the Convention in its use of riot control agents in various peacetime and peacekeeping operations. These are situations in which the United States is not engaged in a use of force of a scope, duration and intensity that would trigger the laws of war with respect to U.S. forces.

In connection with Condition (4)(A), Cost Sharing Arrangements, which calls for a report identifying all cost-sharing arrangements with the Organization, I hereby report that because the Organization is not yet established and will not be until after entry into force of the Convention, as of this date there are no cost-sharing arrangements between the United States and the Organization to identify. However, we will be working with the Organization upon its establishment to develop such arrangements with it and will provide additional information to the Congress in the annual reports contemplated by this Condition.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON

THE WHITE HOUSE,

April 25, 1997.

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