The Stimson Center and OARO partner on developing the world’s first blockchain prototype for monitoring and tracking the international chemical trade

The Stimson Center has partnered with OARO, a Canadian software company specializing in blockchain development, to create MATCH (Monitoring and Tracking Chemicals), a prototype distributed ledger system for monitoring and tracking international trade of chemicals listed under the Chemical Weapons Convention (the Convention).  These “scheduled chemicals” are used in industrial processes for peaceful purposes but can also be used to make chemical weapons.  As such, their production and other activities may be subject to declaration and inspection requirements under the Convention.

The MATCH project is a joint effort of Stimson’s Blockchain in Practice and Partnerships in Proliferation Prevention programs and is co-led by Senior Fellows Dr Cindy Vestergaard and Dr Richard Cupitt. The project is funded by Global Affairs Canada’s Weapons Threat Reduction Program.

The key goals of the Convention include the prevention of the development, production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons. As a transparency measure, the Convention requires its Member States to declare each year on a national level the international transfers of scheduled chemicals as “aggregate national data.”  The Technical Secretariat of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is responsible for supporting States Parties’ implementation of the Convention. It is familiar with the challenges of matching States Parties’ declarations of imports with corresponding exports.  Each year the Secretariat encourages trading countries who are members of the Convention to work together to resolve discrepancies of trade that may arise after the evaluation of their annual declarations on past activities.

Over the next year, the MATCH project will explore, incubate, and test distributed ledger technology (DLT) as a novel method to track international chemical trade in Schedule 2 and 3 chemicals under the Convention and to address challenges in transfer reconciliation with a secure, authoritative distributed ledger. Reducing transfer discrepancies has the potential to benefit both national authorities of States Parties and related industry, by streamlining reporting and creating greater insights into the global chemical trade of monitored scheduled chemicals.

Learn More: https://www.stimson.org/project/match/

Cindy Vestergaard, Director of the Blockchain in Practice program and MATCH project lead at the Stimson Center said,

“We’re excited to be working with OARO, OPCW representatives, and Global Affairs Canada to develop MATCH and test the potential of DLT to reduce the number of transfer discrepancies in global chemical trade. Creating greater efficiencies in reporting declarations will increase confidence in trade data and the ability to track chemicals by both industry and National Authorities.”

Richard T. Cupitt, Director of the Partnership for Proliferation Prevention program said,

“Large numbers of unresolved transfer discrepancies in chemicals of proliferation concern means that the international community may not identify clandestine activities prohibited by the Convention, especially early on when they’re easier to stop or may falsely see indicators of an illegal activity.  If this novel approach to resolving transfer discrepancies proves its potential, it will increase confidence in our efforts to prevent the re-emergence of chemical weapons programs.”

Michele Lunney, Vice President of Business Development, North America for OARO said,

“We’re proud to be working on the MATCH project and excited to see the benefits of DLT put into action. Reducing transfer discrepancies of Scheduled chemicals is an important step in increasing transparency of the global chemical trade. We hope MATCH will be able to improve the success rate of reconciling transfer discrepancies.”

Background: Chemical Trade Data and Chemical Weapons Prevention

The Verification Annex of the Convention obligates all States Parties — that is, countries that have ratified the Convention — to submit annual declarations of, among other things, aggregate national data on quantities and quantitative specification of the imports and exports for each Schedule 2 and 3 chemical to the OPCW. Discrepancies arise when declarations of aggregate national data between two States Parties do not match.

Examples of Transfer Discrepancies:

  • State Party A declares an export of a scheduled chemical to State Party B in a quantity higher than a specific threshold (called the declaration threshold, and which varies depending on the schedule), but State Party B does not declare the import of that scheduled chemical from State Party A.
  • States Parties A and B both declare the trade of a scheduled chemical between them, but the difference between the two declared quantities of import and export is greater than the declaration threshold.

OARO is a Canadian based company that uses the digital world to help businesses verify the real one. OARO is a global provider of enterprise identity and access management solutions, trusted by some of the world’s largest private and public sector organizations. OARO is revolutionizing how leading organizations authenticate and authorize in the physical and digital worlds using biometrics, cryptography, and Blockchain.  More at www.oaro.net.

Stimson’s Blockchain in Practice program works at the intersection of policy and technology. Along with its international partners, the program developed the concept of SLAFKA, the world’s first DLT prototype for tracking nuclear material at the national level. The program is among the first to engage with international nonproliferation and disarmament organizations, national authorities, and private technology companies on the potential application of DLT to strengthen international security and nonproliferation regimes.

Stimson’s Partnerships in Proliferation Prevention program seeks to develop data and tools to empower those working to prevent the proliferation of chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiological weapons and their means of delivery. The program has several projects related to the nonproliferation of chemical weapons, including a cheminformatics project to make identification of chemicals of proliferation concern easier to identify for non-chemists.

THE STIMSON CENTER promotes international security, shared prosperity & justice through applied research and independent analysis, deep engagement, and policy innovation.

For three decades, Stimson has been a leading voice on urgent global issues. Founded in the twilight years of the Cold War, the Stimson Center pioneered practical new steps toward stability and security in an uncertain world. Today, as changes in power and technology usher in a challenging new era, Stimson is at the forefront: Engaging new voices, generating innovative ideas and analysis, and building solutions to promote international security, prosperity, and justice.

More at www.stimson.org.

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