Cyprus will become the 116th State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention. On 28 August 1998 the Government of Cyprus deposited its instrument of ratification with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in his capacity as Depositary of the Convention. The Convention will enter into force for Cyprus on 27 September 1998, 30 days after the date on which its instrument of ratification was deposited. The number of Signatory States, i.e. those that have signed the Convention, but which have yet to ratify it, currently stands at 53.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which came into existence in The Hague on 29 April 1997, is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Convention. The verification provisions of the Convention consist of a combination of detailed declaration requirements and routine inspections of declared stocks of chemical weapons and chemical industry facilities, as well as of short-notice challenge inspections at any location under the jurisdiction or control of any State Party.
20/1998