The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador José M. Bustani, welcomes the ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) by the Republic of Nauru; the Pacific island state deposited its instrument of ratification with the United Nations Secretary-General on 12 November 2001.
Following the accession to the Convention by Kiribati and the ratification by the Federated States of Micronesia last year, Nauru will become the eighth member of the Pacific Islands Forum represented at the OPCW. This important step by Nauru should encourage other countries in the region that are not yet members of the OPCW to join the Convention.
Nauru will become the 144th State Party to the Convention on 12 December 2001, thirty days after the deposit of its instrument of ratification. The number of signatory States—those that have signed the Convention, but which have yet to ratify it—stands at 30.
This significant development brings the OPCW closer to the goal of universality of the Convention.
27/2001