World gathers to redefine chemical weapons mission

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.