Following the deposit of its instrument of ratification on 20 September 2006, the Central African Republic will become the 180th State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention. This will take place on 20 October 2006 - 30 days after it deposited its instrument of ratification of the Convention with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The Convention now covers 98% of the global population. The Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force on 29 April 1997. Adherence to the Convention contributes to global peace and security by verifiably eliminating an entire category of weapons of mass destruction within agreed timelines. The Convention’s universal and effective implementation provides concrete benefits for all OPCW Member States. The Convention's implementing agency, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is based in The Hague, aims to achieve four principal objectives: to eliminate chemical weapons; to prevent their re-emergence and spread; to provide assistance and protection upon any State Party’s request in the event of the use, or threat of use, of chemical weapons; and to promote international cooperation in the peaceful use of chemistry.

The OPCW urges the remaining six Signatory States that have not yet ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the remaining nine States that have not acceded to the treaty, to do so as soon as possible.

Press release