period when the aim of the treaty will have to be achieved in both the vertical and the horizontal dimensions. In this Conference we are concentrating on the first of these stages in order to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that the subsequent stages are successfully negotiated. When working on the text of the convention, our Conference must also be aware of the need to reconcile a system which provides as many guarantees of compliance as possible, so as to build confidence, and operation at a reasonable cost, which will enable all countries, great or small, to participate on an equal footing. The verification system has to be sufficiently close-knit to discourage any inclination to violate the provisions by the risk of being caught out in prohibited activities, but it would be too much to seek absolute guarantees. If the risks of violation are greater for chemical weapons because of the many facilities which can produce them and the problems of detecting them, as compared with nuclear weapons, we must also be sufficiently realistic to acknowledge that the numbers of victims in a nuclear conflict would be much higher. We therefore find it illogical to provide for verification systems - and I am thinking in particular of ad hoc inspections of undeclared facilities - whose cost might represent 10 or more times the budget of the IAEA inspection operation, that is to say about $25 million per year. Finally, I would like to say that we should pursue our efforts on chemical weapons with the aim of concluding a convention providing for a total ban in the near future because, as several colleagues CD/PV.544 6 (Mr. Houllez, Belgium) have already stressed, time is not on our side. This means that any other measure, even if it is effective in present circumstances, cannot replace a 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing international diplomacy and disarmament, specifically the development of a treaty to ban chemical weapons. The language used is formal and diplomatic, with a focus on the practicalities of verification and enforcement. The text does not mention economic development, natural resources, or other specific sectors.

**Category**
International relations, Health