Iraq Nears Chemical Weapons Treaty Accession

Iraqi leaders have approved legislation to enable the nation to accede to an international treaty banning the possession of chemical weapons, Agence France-Presse reported today.  The plan has been endorsed by the country’s parliament and three-member presidency council (see GSN, July 10, 2006)

Iraq is one of just seven countries that have so far refused to join the Chemical Weapons Convention.  Other nonsignatories include Syria and North Korea.

Under the regime of Saddam Hussein, Iraq became known for its use of chemical weapons in killing more than 180,000 people during the 1988 Anfal campaign.

The decision to join the pact “will present a new civilized face of Iraq when it deals with the international community,” said a statement by Surud Najeeb, foreign relations head for Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.

“The advantage of Iraq signing this agreement is that the international community will assist it in getting rid of the environmental problems caused by the use of such weapons in the past,” Najeeb said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Nov. 26).

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