Chemical weapons are weapons that exploit the toxicity of chemicals to bring about death or harm. The toxic chemicals on which chemical weapons are based are known as chemical warfare agents.

The elimination of this entire category of weapons is the aim of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, also known as Chemical Weapons Convention or CWC, administered by the Hague-based OPCW.

Through our work, we aim at contributing to the global efforts to stem the proliferation of chemical weapons, i.e. their spread through development or acquisition. In particular, our work in the chemical weapons nonproliferation domain is focused on:

  • analyzing gaps in current policies and practices that allow the proliferation of chemical weapons and conceptualizing of solutions and tools to narrow them;
  • fostering a deeper understanding of what chemical weapons are and how they work, which is key to implement effective countermeasures to protect combatants and civilians and craft successful policy frameworks to stem their proliferation.

Moreover, we also aim at raising awareness on current issues related to Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Weapons.

The figure shows a blue world map with a chemical weapon symbol