UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged on Thursday all states that have not yet ratified or acceded to the Chemical Weapons Convention to do so without delay.
The UN chief made the appeal at a high-level meeting held at the UN Headquarters to celebrate the pact's 10th anniversary.
Ban stressed that genuine disarmament can be accomplished through United Nations-backed cooperation.
The entry into force of the convention on April 29, 1997 "was a milestone in international efforts to achieve a world free of chemical weapons," Ban said. "The convention stands as a monument to the world's determination to eliminate one of the most inhumane weapons ever conceived."
He stressed that the treaty is the first to be negotiated fully within a multilateral forum, and that "real disarmament is possible through collective action within the framework of the United Nations."
The world's support for disarmament and the ban on chemical weapons is growing, and the 182 states or parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention represent 98 percent of the global population, the secretary-general said.
Many key states have not ratified the convention, he said, urging their adherence to the agreement.
"Instead of competing in a race to acquire more arms, we must all work together in a race to achieve full universal membership of the chemical weapons treaty," he said.
Source: Xinhua
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