Qatar ratifies the Chemical Weapons Convention

10 September 1997

The following ninety-eight 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, 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 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.

PR13/1997