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

C. Destruction

Extension of the deadline for completion of destruction

Purchase

24.

If a State Party believes that it will be unable to ensure the destruction of all Category 1 chemical weapons not later than 10 years after the entry into force of this Convention, it may submit a request to the Executive Council for an extension of the deadline for completing the destruction of such chemical weapons. Such a request must be made not later than nine years after the entry into force of this Convention.

25.	The request shall contain:

(a)	The duration of the proposed extension;

(b)	A detailed explanation of the reasons for the proposed extension; and

(c)	A detailed plan for destruction during the proposed extension and the remaining portion of the original 10 - year period for destruction.

26.

A decision on the request shall be taken by the Conference at its next session, on the recommendation of the Executive Council. Any extension shall be the minimum necessary, but in no case shall the deadline for a State Party to complete its destruction of all chemical weapons be extended beyond 15 years after the entry into force of this Convention. The Executive Council shall set conditions for the granting of the extension, including the specific verification measures deemed necessary as well as specific actions to be taken by the State Party to overcome problems in its destruction programme. Costs of verification during the extension period shall be allocated in accordance with Article IV, paragraph 16.

27.	If an extension is granted, the State Party shall take appropriate measures to meet all subsequent deadlines.

28.

The State Party shall continue to submit detailed annual plans for destruction in accordance with paragraph 29 and annual reports on the destruction of Category 1 chemical weapons in accordance with paragraph 36, until all Category 1 chemical weapons are destroyed. In addition, not later than at the end of each 90 days of the extension period, the State Party shall report to the Executive Council on its destruction activity. The Executive Council shall review progress towards completion of destruction and take the necessary measures to document this progress. All information concerning the destruction activities during the extension period shall be provided by the Executive Council to States Parties, upon request.