Palestine Becomes Party to Chemical Weapons Convention

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The State of Palestine accedes to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), with the international agreement set to enter into force for it in mid-June, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said in a Wednesday statement.

"The State of Palestine deposited on 17 May 2018 its instrument of accession to the Chemical Weapons Convention with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the depositary of the Convention," the statement said.

According to the statement, the CWC will come into effect for Palestine starting from June 16.

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The CWC entered into force in 1997. According to the OPCW, the convention, which has 192 states-parties, is "the most successful disarmament treaty."

The State of Palestine declared independence in 1988 and later in 1994, the Palestinian National Authority was established to govern the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The State of Palestine is recognized by 136 UN states.

Palestine is not a UN member but in 2012 it acquired a status of an observer state in the UN, which can be regarded as de facto recognition of statehood. This status allowed the State of Palestine to become a party to some important international treaties such as the Rome Statute, the fundamental document of the International Criminal Court, and now of the Chemical Weapons Convention.