manufacture and stockpiling of chemical weapons and on their destruction. During the past three years considerable progress has been made in the elaboration of such a convention. Successive reports of the Conference on Disarmament have mapped out a substantial and increasing area of common ground, much of it in treaty language. My Government remains deeply concerned by the danger posed by chemical weapons . The evidence collected by the Secretary-General's group of specialists on the use of chemical weapons in the tragic conflict between Iran and Iraq has reminded us all of their dreadful potential. The Governments of the member States of the European Community have therefore joined with other Governments in imposing export controls on certain compounds which could be misused to make chemical weapons. Such controls do not, however, provide a complete solution to the fundamental problem, and we hope that the awful example of the use of these weapons in the Gulf War will accelerate the conclusion of a global, permanent , comprehensive and effective ban on their manufacture and possession. Nearer home, my Government is gravely concerned at the large and growing stockpile of lethal chemical warfare agents built up by the Soviet Union. The United Kingdom unilaterally abandoned its own chemical weapons capability a quarter AI.lll/cw A/C.l/40/PV.ll 37 (Mr. Cromartie, United Kingdom) of a century ago. The United States has not produced any chemical weapons for more than 15 years. The Soviet Union has not matched this restraint and during the extended moratorium observed by Western Governments, has added substantially to its own large stocks of chemical weapons. My Government attaches great importance to the early conclusion of a chemical weapons convention . The United Kingdom delegation has submitted to the Conference on Disarmament a series of papers containing detailed ideas as a contribution to 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the issue of chemical weapons, their dangers, and the efforts to ban their manufacture and possession. It also touches on the topic of export controls and the stockpiling of chemical weapons by the Soviet Union. The language used is formal and diplomatic, suggesting that the text is related to international relations and security.

**Category**
International trade, Humanitarian aid and relief