Approaches to Chemical Arms Control

Abstract

The Report of the Palme Commission, Common Security: A Programme for Disarmament, paid considerable attention to the need for new initiatives on the international control of chemical weapons. Specifically, it included calls for an agreement on the establishment of a chemical weapon-free zone (CWFZ) in Europe; for a resumption of Soviet-American talks on a chemical weapons disarmament treaty; and for agreement on consultative procedures to resolve problems arising under the 1925 Geneva Protocol which prohibits the use of chemical and biological weapons, and the 1972 Biological Warfare Convention which bans the development or possession of biological or toxin weapons. These steps should be taken ‘within the next two years’ ( that is, before 1984). As to longer-term measures (by 1987), the Report called for: the conclusion of a comprehensive chemical weapons disarmament treaty banning production and stockpiling, and providing for the destruction of existing stocks and production facilities; and for an international convention prohibiting any secret development or experimentation in the military applications of molecular biology and its associated disciplines.