UN accepts Syria's chemical arms treaty application

The United Nations has formally accepted Syria's application to join the chemical weapons convention, a spokesperson said.

The UN welcomed Syria joining the Chemical Weapons Convention, after it received the formal instrument of accession to it by the Assad regime.

Syria applied on Thursday to join the convention, which bans the production and stockpiling of chemical weapons and orders the destruction of existing stocks. But UN lawyers asked the government for information before it could be accepted.

The Secretary-General, in his capacity as the depositary of the 1992 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, on Saturday received the formal instrument of accession to the Convention by Syria, the UN spokesperson said.

Under the Convention, any State may accede to it at any time.

The Convention will enter into force for the Syrian Arab Republic on the 30th day following the date of deposit of this instrument of accession, on October 14, 2013.

"The Secretary-General welcomes the accession of the Syrian Arab Republic to this Convention," the spokesperson said.

In a statement, Arms Control Association said while there are many further, challenging steps ahead, the agreement is an unprecedented breakthrough that would deny the Assad regime access to this dangerous arsenal and significantly reduce the risk that the government can use chemical weapons (CW) again, either inside Syria or against neighbouring states in the region.

The first test of Syrian cooperation will be the delivery of a declaration of its CW stockpile "within a week".