The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) recently began a fact-finding mission in Syria in the wake of allegations that chemical weapons have been used in the area of Uqayribat in the Hama Governate in Syria.
The area in question has been linked to the control of the terrorist organization the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which Iraq joined in 2009, strictly condemn the use of chemical weapons by anyone under any circumstances and deem the use to be contrary to the legal norms established by the international community.
The CWC, overseen by OPCW, comprehensively prohibits the use, development, production, stockpiling, and transfer of any and all chemical weapons. The use of any chemical in warfare is considered a chemical weapon by CWC standards.
Since the convention was entered into force in 1997, 192 States Parties are signed participants, making it the most-successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction. To date, approximately 94 percent of all chemical weapon stockpiles declared by possessor States have been destroyed under OPCW verification. For its efforts in eliminating these weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.