The Hague, 11 July 1997

On 8 July, the Government of Burkina Faso deposited its instrument of ratification of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (Convention or CWC). In accordance with Article XXI (2) of the CWC, the Convention will enter into force for Burkina Faso 30 days after the date of deposit. The total number of deposits of instruments of ratification or accession has now reached ninety-six and the number of States which have signed the Convention but have not yet deposited an instrument of ratification is seventy-one.

The following ninety-five States, in alphabetical order, have already deposited their instruments of ratification or accession: Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guinea, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lesotho, Luxembourg, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The former Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which has been established in The Hague, is responsible for implementing the Convention. The CWC was opened for signature in Paris in 1993 and entered into force this year on 29 April. The Convention prohibits the development, production, stockpiling, acquisition, retention, transfer and use of chemical weapons. It also provides for the total elimination of chemical weapons and related production facilities in all States Parties under international supervision within a specific time-frame. The CWC will be verified through a combination of detailed declaration requirements, routine inspections of declared chemical weapons and chemical industry facilities, as well as short notice challenge inspections at any place under the jurisdiction or control of any State Party.