Syria has officially joined the United Nations convention banning chemical weapons, the spokesman of the
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) says.
"As of today Syria became a full-fledged state member of the convention," Michael Luhan told DPA on Monday.
He said the move comes after "the decision taken a few weeks ago at Syria's request to fast forward the application to enable us to get on with our work".
About 60 members from the UN-backed OPCW is overseeing the destruction of Syria's stockpile as well as some of its chemical weapons production equipment.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee last week awarded the OPCW the Nobel Peace Prize for "its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons".
In September, Syria said it would sign the Chemical Weapons Convention, following Russia's proposal that it hand over its chemical weapons to international supervisors.
The Syrian regime in August was accused by Western powers and the Syrian opposition of using sarin gas in areas near the capital Damascus. The United States said the attack killed 1,400 people.
President Bashar al-Assad repeatedly denied the accusation.
Created in 1997, OPCW's job is to implement the Chemical Weapons Convention, a treaty that requires all countries that join to eliminate their chemical weapons stocks and related facilities.
Syria is the 190th country to join the convention.
Only six states have yet to sign the international treaty.
Meanwhile Dutch woman Sigrid Kaag will lead the UN's joint mission with the chemical weapons watchdog to eliminate Syria's arsenal.
The UN Security Council, which is set to vote on Kaag's nomination on Wednesday, has formally approved a first joint mission with the OPCW.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made his appointment of Kaag known in a letter addressed to Azerbaijan's UN envoy Agshin Mehdiyev, who holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council.
Kaag, a UN assistant secretary-general working at the UN Development Program, has served since 2007 as the regional director for the Middle East and North Africa with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Amman.
The mission she is set to lead must include about a hundred staff members and be based in Damascus, with a second base in Cyprus.
