§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the final treaty on chemical weapons disarmament and verification, currently being negotiated in Geneva, will require that all old burial and destruction sites of chemical warfare agents will need to be indentified for the purposes of verification; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe question of old chemical weapon burial and destruction sites has been raised in the Geneva negotiations and their coverage under a comprehensive chemical weapons convention is still under discussion. There is general agreement in the negotiations that upon entry into force of such a convention, states would be required to declare their existing chemical weapon stockpiles, accept on-site inspection of such stockpiles and destroy them within 10 years. Production of chemical weapons would cease immediately and production facilities would be dismantled over the 10-year period. Chemical weapon destruction facilities would be declared and progress in the destruction of stocks monitored.