[JURIST] Iraq has become the 186th nation to join the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) [official website] by acceding [OPCW press release] to the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention [text], the organization announced Wednesday. A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised Iraq's move [press release release], saying that it showed the Iraqi government's "commitment to disarmament and non-proliferation," and adding:

The Secretary-General firmly believes that reaching universality of the Chemical Weapons Convention will significantly promote international peace and security and urges the remaining States not party to take the necessary measures to accede to the Convention as early as possible.

Iraq will be bound by the convention no later than February 12, 2009.

The Iraqi government openly used chemical weapons during the 1988 Anfal campaign [HRW backgrounder] against ethnic Kurds and the US and Great Britain alleged it possessed chemical "weapons of mass destruction" prior to their 2003 invasion of Iraq. No evidence of such weapons was ever found. Iraq announced its intention [JURIST report] to accede to the CWC and become a member of the OPCW in November 2007. Under a resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council [official website] in June 2007, Iraq was required to ratify the treaty in exchange for the UN ceasing its weapons inspection [LA Times report] program in Iraq. Thirty-seven countries have yet to ratify the treaty.