What is the Ordinance about ?

The Chemical Weapons (Convention) Ordinance (Cap. 578) was enacted to provide the authority for the HKSAR Government to fully fulfill the requirements of the Convention in Hong Kong :

• bans the use, development, possession etc. of chemical weapons, and seizes chemical weapons found in Hong Kong for disposal;

• controls and monitors the production and related activities related to the scheduled chemicals and unscheduled discrete organic chemicals;

• requires the submission of information from relevant parties such as manufacturers, research and medical institutions, laboratories etc for the purposes of compiling annual declarations to the Secretariat of the Convention;

• enables the inspection teams sent by the Secretariat of Convention to conduct inspections of facilities in Hong Kong.

There are also other legislations in Hong Kong which impose control on the scheduled chemicals. For example, the Import and Export Ordinance and the Import and Export (Strategic Commodities) Regulations require the import and export of scheduled chemicals to be subject to licensing control. The import and export licensing control system is administered by Trade and Industry Department. The Weapons of Mass Destruction (Control of Provision of Services) Ordinance prohibits the provision of services intended to assist the development, production, acquisition and stockpiling of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.