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World gathers to redefine chemical weapons mission
 The Hague, April 7 (MIA) - The head of the body created to rid the world of chemical weapons says its 11-year mission is entering a new phase, with Iraq set to sign its founding treaty and rogue threats coming to the fore.
Rogelio Pfirter, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Director-General, was speaking to AFP ahead of a review conference on progress under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, which starts in The Hague Monday.
"I believe we don't say it often enough: the convention is the only international treaty which aims to eliminate an entire category of weapons of mass destruction," Pfirter said.
The history of chemical weapons goes back to ancient Greek times, but the first large-scale attack came in 1915 when clouds of German chlorine gas killed thousands of allied troops near Ypres, in Belgium.
Media portrayal of Vietnam and Iraq's wars with Iran and the Kurds in the 1980s saw international action gradually become concerted.
"It is a success," Pfirter said of his mission, citing the treaty's ratification by 183 countries representing 98 percent of the world's population.
Despite later deadlines accorded to the heaviest stockpilers such as the United States and Russia (2012) or Libya (2011), Pfirter said destruction of stocks and manufacturing sites was on schedule.
Nevertheless, "universality" remains elusive, with 12 states yet to sign or ratify, including five in the Middle East (Israel, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq).
"I have serious hopes of seeing two of them, Lebanon and Iraq, signing up to the convention in the near future," Pfirter said, with Israel also in attendance at The Hague as an observer.
However, the OPCW has yet to establish any communication with North Korea, with Pfirter saying he needs the six-nation talks on Pyongyang's nuclear capability to raise the issue of chemical weapons as well.
The review conference will examine the body's changing remit, with limiting the potential for rogue users -- such as the Japanese sect behind the 1995 sarin gas attacks on commuters on the Tokyo subway -- a growing concern.
The OPCW has conducted over 3,000 inspections in 80 member states since its formation.
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