Tuesday 15 October 2013

Syria Joined UN Chemical Weapons Convention

Syria on 14 October 2013 officially joined the United Nations Chemical Weapons Convention, which outlaws production and use of chemical weapons.              
         

Syria is the 190th country to join the convention. Only six states have yet to sign the international treaty. Syria Joined UN Chemical The move comes as international inspectors are working to destroy the chemical weapon stockpile of the Assad regime in Syria.

The six UN States are not signed the CWC are

  • Israel    
  • Myanmar
  • Angola
  • Egypt
  • North Korea
  • South Sudan


About Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is a multilateral treaty that bans chemical weapons and requires their destruction within a specified period of time.

The title of the treaty is Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction.

The convention opened for signature on 13 January 1993, and entered into force on 29 April 1997.

The CWC aims to eliminate an entire category of weapons of mass destruction by prohibiting the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer or use of chemical weapons by States Parties. States Parties, in turn, must take the steps necessary to enforce that prohibition in respect of persons (natural or legal) within their jurisdiction.

The CWC is implemented by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is headquartered in The Hague.

The OPCW receives states-parties’ declarations detailing chemical weapons-related activities or materials and relevant industrial activities. After receiving declarations, the OPCW inspects and monitors states-parties’ facilities and activities that are relevant to the convention, to ensure compliance.

About the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)

• The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an independent, international body set up in 1997 to implement the Chemical Weapons Convention.

• The organisation is presently involved in destroying Syria's stockpiles of chemical weapons - the first time the OPCW has worked in a war zone.

• It carries out inspections of destruction procedures, as well as evaluating members' own declarations, in order to verify that the convention is being adhered to.

• It is based in The Hague, Netherland and has 189 member states, covering around 98 percent of the world's population. These member nations have agreed to work together to create a world free from chemical weapons.

• The OPCW employs around 500 people and has a budget of 75m Euros (102m Dollars, 63m Pounds) in 2010.

• It is an autonomous organisation with a working relationship with the United Nations.

• Ahmet Uzumcu is the Present Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

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