Progress continues on text for chemical weapons ban.

Progress continues on text for chemical weapons ban

Advanced stage reached

"Substantive and constructive results" were reported by the Ad Hoc Committee on Chemical Weapons of the Conference on Disarmament. The body continued work in January on a convention banning development, production and stockpiling of chemical weapons and calling for their destruction. Chairman Rolf Ekeus of Sweden said the updated draft, the so-called "rolling text", was now in an "advanced stage". The convention will deal with such issues as declarations of chemical weapons, international systematic monitoring of storage facilities, methods and organization of the destruction procedures and national implementation and international verification measures.

By specific draft provisions, still subject to change, States Parties would agree to:

. The creation of an Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, to ensure implementation of the convention, including verification and compliance provisions, and to provide a forum for consultation and co-operation among States Parties. The Consultative Committee would be the principal organ of the Organization. An International Inspectorate would carry out activities relating to verification.

. Submit to the Consultative Committee declarations on the existence of chemical weapons or production facilities under its jurisdiction or control anywhere; the presence on its territory of any such weapons or facilities under the jurisdiction or control of others, including a State not Party to the convention; and the transfer or receipt of chemical weapons or production equipment.

. Provide access after declarations are submitted, to its chemical weapons and production facilities for systematic international verification of the declarations through on-site inspection.

. Specify the location and inventories of any chemical weapons production facilities under its jurisdiction or control.

. Provide general plans for destruction of its chemical weapons and chemical weapons production facilities, not later than six months before each destruction period begins.

. Destroy all chemical weapons and production facilities beginning not later than 12 months and finishing not later than 10 years after the convention enters into force for it, and certify completion of the destruction process.

Other substantive provisions of the convention would deal with its scope; definitions and criteria; production facilities; activities not prohibited by the convention; and assistance measures. Remaining difficult problems relate to: challenge inspection; design of the Organization to be set up to ensure implementation; order of destruction of chemical weapons; definitional problems especially related to the question of jurisdiction and control; and control arrangements for the chemical industry. Finally, the questions of technological and economic cooperation and assistance had yet to be substantially dealt with.

A plethora of Foreign Ministers

In February and March, the Conference heard Foreign Ministers of Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Federal Republic of Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy New Zealand and Norway, as well as the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union. It was the first time in a decade that the Conference was addressed by so many high-ranking officials.

There was a widespread call for an enhanced role for the Conference and an overall strengthening of multilateral disarmament efforts. Speakers agreed that multilateral and bilateral disarmament negotiations should reinforce each other. All speakers favoured the early elaboration of a multilateral convention on the prohibition and destruction of chemical weapons. The problem of verification and concomitant technicalities were stressed by some.

There was wide support for a comprehensive nuclear-test ban and prevention of an arms race in outer space. It was hoped that the Conference would make a meaningful contribution to the third special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament, to be held in June in New York.

Chemical weapons ban: a delay?

Discussion on a treaty to ban chemical weapons continued. Concern was expressed by some countries, including the Soviet Union, that other countries, such as the United States and other Western nations, were delaying the conclusion of a treaty. Some Western countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, felt considerable work on a chemical weapons ban was still required, including resolution of technical difficulties.

Proposals were made by a number of nations. The Soviet Union suggested that all States participating in the negotiations provide, as "an act of good will", information on their chemical weapons stock-piles and production facilities during the drafting period. It also proposed testing of a procedure for systematic international verification of the non-production of chemical weapons in commercial industries.

The United States introduced a document on thresholds for monitoring chemical activities not prohibited by a convention. The Federal Republic of Germany submitted papers on verification of non-production of chemical weapons and on super-toxic lethal chemicals. Argentina submitted a proposal on assistance in relation to protection against chemical weapons. The German Democratic Republic set forth its views on the composition, size, decision-making and other procedural matters of the Executive Council.

The binary quandary

The Soviet Union said United States production of a new generation of chemical weapons--binary weapons--was "an attempt to torpedo the process of chemical disarmament and a sign of contempt" for the work being undertaken in the Conference.

The United States, maintaining that the Soviet Union had a decided advantage over the United States in chemical warfare capability, said it was unwilling to face a growing chemical weapons threat with diminishing retaliatory capability. Every binary chemical weapon it produced was offset by the destruction of a unitary artillery shell from the existing arsenal. The number of munitions to be destroyed would be several times the number of binary munitions to be produced.

Documents

Among the important documents discussed during February and March was a paper entitled "Towards increasing the effectiveness of the Conference on Disarmament at Geneva", adopted in Prague in October 1987 by the Foreign Ministers of States Parties to the Warsaw Treaty. They proposed that the Conference work on a year-round basis with two or three breaks. Subsidiary bodies should work until results are achieved. Experts and scientists should be more involved. Some sessions should be held at the foreign-minister level.

In March, the Conference received the text of the 15 September 1987 agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union on the establishment of nuclear risk reduction centres. Each nation will create a national centre in its capital for transmitting notifications to reduce the outbreak of nuclear war and prevent incidents on and over the high seas.

The Conference also reviewed the most recent report of the Ad Hoc Group of Scientific Experts to Consider International Co-operative Measures to Detect and Identify Seismic Events, which has been working since 1976 to facilitate verification of a comprehensive test-ban treaty. It is now considering an overall concept of a modern international seismic data exchange system and preparing a large-scale experiment. The Group is to meet again from 25 July to 5 August 1988.

PHOTO : Speakers agreed that multilateral and bilateral disarmament negotiations should reinforce

PHOTO : each other.