The Hague, 29 October 1997

Pakistan Ratifies the Chemical Weapons Convention

On 28 October 1997, the Government of Pakistan 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) with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. In accordance with paragraph 2 of Article XXI, the Convention will enter into force 30 days after the date of deposit of its instrument of ratification which will ensure that Pakistan will participate as a State Party at the Second Session of the Conference of the States Parties, which will be held from 1-5 December in The Hague.

The total number of instruments of ratification or accession which have been deposited has now reached 101. The number of States which have signed the Convention, but which have not yet deposited an instrument of ratification, is sixty-six. The following hundred 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, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, 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, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Guyana, 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, Qatar, 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 is responsible for supervising the implementation of the CWC, was established in The Hague when the Convention entered into force on 29 April 1997. The verification provisions of the Convention consist of a combination of detailed declaration requirements and routine inspections of declared chemical weapons and chemical industry facilities, as well as of short notice challenge inspections at any place under the jurisdiction or control of any State Party.