The Hague, 2 April 2004

Rwanda Joins the Chemical Weapons Convention

On 31 March 2004, Rwanda deposited its instrument of ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Depositary of the CWC. On 30 April 2004, thirty days after the deposit of its instrument of ratification, Rwanda will become the 162nd State Party to the Convention.

Rwanda now joins the other 161 States Parties, including 40 African countries, that are Member States of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), bringing the goal of a chemical weapons-free world and a chemical weapons-free zone in Africa a step closer.

The African Union in its Summit Conferences held in Durban, 2002, and Maputo, 2003 has reiterated the urgent need to achieve this goal. Since the Maputo Summit in July 2003, five members of the African Union have joined the OPCW (Sao Tome and Principe, Cape Verde, Libya, Chad and Rwanda).