Paris Conference calls for complete ban on chemical weapons; reaffirms validity of 1925 Protocol.

• Position: Conference of States Parties to 1925 Geneva Protocol and Other Interested States on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

Representatives of 149 States, who met in Paris in January to discuss strengthening of the authority of the 1925 Geneva Protocol banning the use of chemical and biological weapons in war, declared their determination "to prevent any recourse to chemical weapons by completely eliminating them" They stressed the need to conclude, at an early date, a convention on the prohibition of the development, production, stockpiling and use of all chemical weapons, and on their destruction.

The Conference of States Parties to the 1925 Geneva Protocol and Other Interested States on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons was held at UNESCO headquarters from 7 to 11 January. President Ronald Reagan of the United States and President Francois Mitterrand of France had urged its convening at the General Assembly in 1988. France, which is depository of the 1925 Geneva Protocol, hosted the Conference.

There are now some 110 States parties to the Geneva Protocol. Many of them have, however, reserved the right to use chemical or biological weapons in retaliation in case such weapons have been used against them.

In the Final Declaration, Conference participants, regardless of whether they were parties to the Protocol or not, affirmed the commitment not to use chemical weapons, condemned such use, and recognized the importance and continuing validity of the Geneva Protocol. All States which had not yet done so were called upon to accede to the Protocol (see box).

"While all weapons deal death and destruction, some are more atrocious and barbarous than others", Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar told the meeting. This was true of chemical weapons because they ignored the materiel and focused on the extermination of human beings.

Although the 1925 Geneva Protocol was still a cornerstone of international law relating to prohibition of use of chemical and biological weapons, it was not a disarmament treaty, he said. Only a global ban which both prohibits the production and mandates the destruction of such weapons under effective international control could ensure total compliance with the ban on their use.

He called for expediting the work on a comprehensive chemical weapons ban in the Conference on Disarmament, with negotiators successfully elaborating provisions on all aspects of a convention. To do that, concerted political action at a high level was needed.

The Paris Conference, he continued, provided the international community with a unique opportunity to...