DePaul University's Barry Kellman, professor of law and recognized expert on the legal aspects of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), has urged the U.S. Senate to approve the treaty this month or be left out of managing how the world's chemical weapons will be eliminated.

Between April 14 and 21, the Senate is set to debate and vote on the treaty, which goes into effect later this month. The Clinton Adminstration is pushing for ratification.

Kellman, who was the lead author of the Manual for National Implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, testified on behalf of the CWC before the Senate Judiciary Committee last fall. The Senate tabled the vote on ratification instead of taking action.

More than 160 nations have signed the agreement and 67 have ratified it, according to Kellman, who described it as the most sweeping arms control treaty since the end of the Cold War.

"The CWC's backbone is an innovative international law enforcement designed to verify the destruction of chemical weapon stockpiles and to monitor chemical plants in an effort to prevent or detect prohibited production of chemical weapons," he said.

"It is strengthened by a rigorous international inspection system and restrictions on trade in commercial chemicals that can be turned into weapons," he said.

"If the United States remains outside the treaty, it will have no seat on the executive council that will oversee CWC operations and thus forfeit any ability to influence budgetary decisions and inspection practices," said Kellman. "Also, U.S. citizens would be barred from serving as verification inspectors.

"The United States is all too vulnerable to the threat of chemical weapons," observed Kellman. "As long as the treaty's inspection and systems do not include the United States, what is to prevent what happened in Tokyo's subway where Sarin gas was released killing 12 and injuring 6,000? Only this time the place could be Philadelphia or San Francisco."

Kellman said that most senators support ratification of the treaty, but a few holdouts need further information.

For example, he said that the argument that the treaty would burden the chemical manufacturing industry is flawed.

"The U.S. chemical industry helped negotiate the inspection provisions of the treaty and the Chemical Manufacturers Association is an outspoken supporter of CWC ratification," he said. "These companies recognize that the trivial costs of treaty compliance are incidental to the benefits of living in a safer world."

In addition to teaching law and international security at DePaul, Kellman is a legal consultant to the Defense Nuclear Agency and The Organizations for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons and to the Department of Energy on issues involving the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Kellman is able to discuss all aspects of the CWC. To contact Kellman at DePaul call 312/362-5258.