afrol News, 2 April - Rwanda has become the fifth African country to join the UN's chemical weapons convention in less than one year. With Rwanda joining the convention, the African Union is getting closer to its goal of establishing a chemical weapons-free zone in Africa. Four African countries however still refuse to sign the convention.

On 31 March, the Rwandan government deposited its instrument of ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) with the UN Secretary-General, the Depositary of the Convention. On 30 April, thirty days after the deposit of its instrument of ratification, Rwanda will become the 162nd state party to the Convention.

Rwanda now joins the other 161 state parties - including 40 African countries - that are member states of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), bringing the goal of a chemical weapons-free world and a chemical weapons-free zone in Africa a step closer, OPCW report today.

The African Union - in its summits held in Durban (2002) and Maputo (2003) - had reiterated the urgent need to achieve this goal. Since the Maputo Summit in July 2003, five members of the African Union have joined the OPCW. These are São Tomé and Príncipe, Cape Verde, Libya, Chad and Rwanda.

There are still nine African countries that have not yet deposited their instruments of ratification. These are the Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo Brazzaville, Congo Kinshasa, Djibouti, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Madagascar and Sierra Leone. All these nine countries - and Rwanda - originally signed the convention in 1993 but have failed to ratify it.

There are however four African nations that never have signed the Chemical Weapons Convention. These are Egypt, Angola, Somalia and Western Sahara. The latter however is not entitled to sign the convention. The only of these four countries believed to be capable of producing chemical weapons is believed to be Egypt.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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