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Q20 (IAS/2016) International Relations & Global Affairs › International Organisations & Groupings › Nuclear and security regimes Official Key

With reference to 'Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)', consider the following statements : 1. It is an organization of European Union in working relation with NATO and WHO. 2. It monitors chemical industry to prevent new weapons from emerging. 3. It provides assistance and protection to States (Parties) against chemical weapons threats. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Result
Your answer:  ·  Correct: B
Explanation

The correct answer is option B (statements 2 and 3 only).

**Statement 1 is incorrect**: The OPCW is an intergovernmental organization based in The Hague, established by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)[2]. It is not an organization of the European Union, but rather an independent international organization with global membership.

**Statement 2 is correct**: The verification provisions of the CWC affect not only the military sector but also the civilian chemical industry worldwide through certain restrictions and obligations regarding the production, processing, and consumption of chemicals that are considered relevant to the objectives of the Convention[3]. This monitoring helps prevent new chemical weapons from emerging.

**Statement 3 is correct**: The Convention includes provisions for assistance and protection against the use of chemical weapons[4], which the OPCW implements for States Parties.

Therefore, only statements 2 and 3 are correct, making option B the right answer.

Sources
  1. [1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/chemical-weapon
  2. [2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1212411714000105
  3. [3] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/chemical-weapon
  4. [4] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/disarmament
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PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
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Don’t just practise – reverse-engineer the question. This panel shows where this PYQ came from (books / web), how the examiner broke it into hidden statements, and which nearby micro-concepts you were supposed to learn from it. Treat it like an autopsy of the question: what might have triggered it, which exact lines in the book matter, and what linked ideas you should carry forward to future questions.
Q. With reference to 'Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)', consider the following statements : 1. It is an organiz…
At a glance
Origin: Mostly Current Affairs Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 0/10 · 6/10
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This question is a 'Current Affairs Echo'—OPCW was hot due to the Syrian crisis and its 2013 Nobel Peace Prize. The difficulty is artificial; UPSC used a 'Parent Body Swap' trap in Statement 1 (labeling a global body as an EU agency) to make a simple fact-check look complex. If you track international bodies, this is a sitter; if you rely only on static books, it's a guess.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Is the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) an organization of the European Union?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

Web source
Presence: 5/5
"administered by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), an intergovernmental organization based in"
Why this source?
  • Explicitly calls the OPCW an "intergovernmental organization," which means it is composed of states, not an EU institution.
  • Saying it is intergovernmental directly refutes the claim that it is an organization of the European Union.
Web source
Presence: 4/5
"The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, established by the CWC, ensures the implementation of the provisions of the CWC."
Why this source?
  • States the OPCW is in The Hague and was established by the Chemical Weapons Convention, indicating an independent treaty-based body.
  • Location and founding by the CWC support that it is an international organization, not an EU agency.
Web source
Presence: 4/5
"The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was established in order to implement the requirements arising from the Convention and was located in the Hague."
Why this source?
  • Says the OPCW "was established ... and was located in the Hague," showing it is an organization created to implement the CWC rather than an EU body.
  • Being established to implement a global convention indicates an international role, not membership in the EU institutional structure.

Contemporary World Politics, Textbook in political science for Class XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 5: Security in the Contemporary World > Security in the Contemporary World 69 > p. 69
Strength: 5/5
“Traditional views of security do not rule out other forms of cooperation as well. The most important of these are disarmament, arms control, and confidence building. Disarmament requires all states to give up certain kinds of weapons. For example, the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) banned the production and possession of these weapons. More than 155 states acceded to the BWC and 193 states acceded to the CWC. Both conventions included all the great powers. But the superpowers — the US and Soviet Union — did not want to give up the third type of weapons of mass destruction, namely, nuclear weapons, so they pursued arms control.”
Why relevant

States that the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) was acceded to by 193 states, framing it as a near-universal global treaty rather than a regional (EU) instrument.

How to extend

A student could infer that the implementing body for such a widely‑ratified treaty is likely a global organisation and therefore check whether OPCW is an independent international body rather than an EU agency.

Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 5: Biodiversity and Legislations > Table 5.1 (Contd.) > p. 12
Strength: 4/5
“Rotterdam Con vention; Year: 1998; Entry into Force: 24.2.2004; Date of Ratifcation: 24.5.2005; Issues covered: To promote shared respon sibility among the parties in the co-operative eforts among international trade of certain hazardous chemicals in order to protect human health and the environment. • MEAs: 14. Stockholm Con vention; Year: 2001; Entry into Force: 17.5.2004; Date of Ratifcation: 13.1.2006; Issues covered: Protect human health and environment from persistent organic pollutants. • MEAs: 15. Hyderabad Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutant; Year: 2001; Entry into Force: 17.5.2004; Date of Ratifcation: 13.1.2006; Issues covered: To conserve marine coastal ecosystems”
Why relevant

Lists major multilateral chemical/environmental conventions (Rotterdam, Stockholm) as examples of international environmental agreements (MEAs), illustrating that chemical regulation frequently operates through global treaties.

How to extend

Use the pattern that chemical-related regimes are commonly global MEAs to suspect OPCW is linked to a global convention (CWC) and thus not necessarily an EU organisation.

Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 28: International Organisation and Conventions > I0Ps" > p. 397
Strength: 4/5
“"I0Ps" Five global non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been associated with the treaty since its beginnings and were confirmed in the formal status of International Organization Partners (lOPs) ofthe Convention. AII Rights Reservecl. No part of this material nrv, be reproclucecl in any forn or bv anv means, rtithout Pernission it \\,ritillg. ffi”
Why relevant

Describes the formal status of International Organization Partners (IOPs) associated with a treaty, showing treaties often create independent institutional partnerships and bodies.

How to extend

A student could generalise that treaty implementation often uses specialised international organisations (not regional bodies like the EU) and therefore look up whether OPCW was established by an international treaty.

Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 24: Climate Change Organizations > Global Climate Change Alliance > p. 346
Strength: 3/5
“\ Global Climate Change Alliance • Administered by The European Commission• Area of focus Adaptation, Implementation, General, Mitigation - REDD• Date operational 200S The Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) is an initiative of the European Union. Its overall objective is to build a new alliance on climate change between the European Union and the poor developing countries that are most affected and that have the least capacity to deal with climate change. The GCCA does not intend to set up a new fund or governance structure, but is working through the European Comriission's established channeis for political dialogue and cooperation at national and international ievel.”
Why relevant

Gives an explicit example of an initiative 'administered by The European Commission' (GCCA), showing the EU creates and runs its own institutions/initiatives.

How to extend

Compare this model (EU-administered body) with OPCW: if OPCW were an EU organisation, one would expect similar phrasing (e.g., 'administered by the European Commission'); the absence of such language in OPCW descriptions would suggest it is not an EU body.

Contemporary World Politics, Textbook in political science for Class XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 2: Contemporary Centres of Power > TIMELINE OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION > p. 18
Strength: 3/5
“2013: Croatia becomes the 28th member of the EU. 2016: Referendum in Britain, 51.9 per cent voters decide that Britain exit (Brexit) from the EU. economic organisations such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The EU also has political and diplomatic influence. One member of the EU, France, holds permanent seat on the UN Security Council. The EU includes several nonpermanent members of the UNSC. This has enabled the EU to influence some US policies such as the current US position on Iran's nuclear programme. Its use of diplomacy, economic investments, and negotiations rather than coercion and military force has been effective as in the case of its dialogue with China on human rights and environmental degradation.”
Why relevant

Discusses the EU's role as a regional political and diplomatic actor distinct from global organisations such as the UN or WTO, highlighting the distinction between EU institutions and universal international bodies.

How to extend

A student could use this distinction to reason that organisations tied to global universality (like those implementing near-universal treaties) are separate from EU-specific institutions and should verify OPCW's founding instrument and membership scope.

Statement analysis

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Statement analysis

This statement analysis shows book citations, web sources and indirect clues. The first statement (S1) is open for preview.

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Statement analysis

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Statement analysis

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