The Chemical Weapons Convention ( " the Convention " ) is an international treaty that aims to prohibit the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, possession, transfer and use of chemical weapons. It also requires the destruction of existing chemical weapons.
Development, production, acquisition, possession, transfer and use of toxic chemicals and their precursors which are intended for industrial, agricultural, research, medical, and other peaceful uses are, on the other hand, permitted under the Convention, but such activities are subject to declaration and inspection requirements under the Convention.
The Convention came into force on 29 April 1997. The People's Republic of China is a signatory to the Convention and the Central People's Government has extended the application of the Convention to Hong Kong SAR under Article 153 of the Basic Law. The Hong Kong SAR Government implements the Convention through its own law and its own control system in accordance with the principle of "One Country, Two Systems".
The Chemical Weapons (Convention) Ordinance (Cap. 578) ("the Ordinance") is the law which implements the Convention in Hong Kong. The Ordinance has commenced on 18 June 2004. For details, please refer to Strategic Trade Controls Circular No. 17/04.