Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act No. 108 of 1996)

Notices

Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction

Annex on Implementation and Verification ("Verification Annex")

Part IV(A) : Destruction of Chemical Weapons and its Verification Pursuant to Article IV

D. Verification

Inspections and visits
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44.The particular storage facility to be inspected shall be chosen by the Technical Secretariat in such a way as to preclude the prediction of precisely when the facility is to be inspected. The guidelines for determining the frequency of systematic on-site inspections shall be elaborated by the Technical Secretariat, taking into account the recommendations to be considered and approved by the Conference pursuant to Article VIII, paragraph 21(i).

 

45.The Technical Secretariat shall notify the inspected State Party of its decision to inspect or visit the storage facility 48 hours before the planned arrival of the inspection team at the facility for systematic inspections or visits. In cases of inspections or visits to resolve urgent problems, this period may be shortened. The Technical Secretariat shall specify the purpose of the inspection or visit.

 

46.The inspected State Party shall make any necessary preparations for the arrival of the inspectors and shall ensure their expeditious transportation from their point of entry to the storage facility. The facility agreement will specify administrative arrangements for inspectors.

 

47.The inspected State Party shall provide the inspection team upon its arrival at the chemical weapons storage facility to carry out an inspection, with the following data on the facility:
(a)The number of storage buildings and storage locations;
(b)For each storage building and storage location, the type and the identification number or designation, shown on the site diagram; and
(c)For each storage building and storage location at the facility, the number of items of each specific type of chemical weapon, and, for containers that are not part of binary munitions, the actual quantity of chemical fill in each container.

 

48.In carrying out an inventory, within the time available, inspectors shall have the right:
(a)To use any of the following inspection techniques:
(i)inventory all the chemical weapons stored at the facility;
(ii)inventory all the chemical weapons stored in specific buildings or locations at the facility, as chosen by the inspectors; or
(iii)inventory all the chemical weapons of one or more specific types stored at the facility, as chosen by the inspectors; and
(b)To check all items inventoried against agreed records.

 

49.Inspectors shall, in accordance with facility agreements:
(a)Have unimpeded access to all parts of the storage facilities including any munitions, devices, bulk containers, or other containers therein. While conducting their activity, inspectors shall comply with the safety regulations at the facility. The items to be inspected will be chosen by the inspectors; and
(b)Have the right, during the first and any subsequent inspection of each chemical weapons storage facility, to designate munitions, devices, and containers from which samples are to be taken, and to affix to such munitions, devices, and containers a unique tag that will indicate an attempt to remove or alter the tag. A sample shall be taken from a tagged item at a chemical weapons storage facility or a chemical weapons destruction facility as soon as it is practically possible in accordance with the corresponding destruction programmes, and, in any case, not later than by the end of the destruction operations.