UNITED NATIONS: The Palestinians have joined two UN agencies and the global convention to halt the spread of chemical weapons, a UN envoy said Wednesday, despite a threat of US funding cuts. “On May 15, Palestine acceded to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the Convention on the Prohibition, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons,” Mladenov said. The envoy did not address whether the decision will have an impact on funding from the United States for these agencies and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The OPCW announced in The Hague earlier that the state of Palestine will become the 193rd state to join the chemical weapons convention. Only four countries – Israel, Egypt, North Korea and South Sudan – have yet to ratify the chemical weapons convention, which aims to eliminate an entire category of weapons of mass destruction.

Source: New Strait Times May 23, 2018 15:56 UTC