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Treaty Issues in Depth
Chemical Weapons Convention Update

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) will hold its second review conference from 7-18 April 2008. Since its entry-into-force in April 1997, the CWC went from 87 States Parties to 182 Member States, which represents over 98 percent of the world’s population. Currently there are only six signatory states and seven non-signatory states to the Convention.

In order to help Member States reach the goal of chemical weapons demilitarization, the Organization for the Prohibition to Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was established to monitor and verify the destruction of chemical weapons and CW-related facilities and ensure compliance with the Convention. The OPCW has conducted over 3,000 inspections at 1,050 locations in 79 states. In addition, the OPCW has provided or helped coordinate training and assistance programs for over 5,600 personnel.