Chemical weapons convention transmitted to General Assembly.

• Position: Includes related information on the 24-article Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons

In a major step towards achieving a global ban on chemical weapons, the Conference on Disarmament adopted and transmitted to the General Assembly the text of the 24-article Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction.

It took that action on 3 September at the end of its annual session, which was held in Geneva in three parts - from 21 January to 27 March, 11 May to 26 June, and 20 July to 3 September.

The approval of the final draft by the Conference signified the conclusion of more than 10 years of negotiations. The General Assembly, after commending the new treaty, will request the UN Secretary-General, as Depositary of the Convention, to open it for signature at a special conference in Paris on 13 January 1993.

The Convention totally prohibits chemical weapons and any activities aimed at or contributing to their use. The ban extends not only to chemical warfare agents as such, but also to the means of delivery.

By the Convention, States parties are obliged to destroy all chemical weapons, including those abandoned, and chemical weapons. production facilities. Routine as well as short-notice "challenge" inspections of Government and industrial facilities are to be conducted to verify compliance. Built-in safeguards, including sanctions, deal with situations where basic obligations are not respected.

To implement the Convention, an organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons is to be established at The Hague, Netherlands.

In addition to chemical weapons, the Conference also dealt with: a nuclear test ban; cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament; prevention of nuclear war; prevention of an arms race in outer space; effective assurances for non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons; new types and new systems of weapons of mass destruction; radiological weapons; a comprehensive programme of disarmament; and transparency in armaments.

In a closing statement, Conference President Michel Servais of Belgium said the 1992 report represented the "art of the possible". While the results in certain areas had been "rather meagre", in other areas, notably chemical weapons, Conference members could have "every reason to be delighted with their achievements".

The Conference on Disarmament is the world's single forum for multilateral disarmament negotiations. It consists of the five nuclear-weapon States - China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States - other militarily significant States, as well as neutral and non-aligned countries which form the "Group of 21". Non-members have been...