complete and effective ban on chemical weapons. Reviewing the state of our negotiations on chemical weapons, we are at a historical juncture, particularly promising and favourable for disarmament. This is a time to seize existing opportunities, which in our case means to translate the consensus of the international community - as it manifested itself at the Paris Conference - into a comprehensive and global convention effectively banning chemical weapons. However, I cannot help but feel disappointed. Despite the untiring efforts and the excellent work of this year's Ad Hoc Committee Chairman, Ambassador Hyltenius, we have failed to resolve some as yet outstanding key issues in our negotiations. Progress has been slow. The pace of our negotiations seems to have slackened compared to last year. Indeed, during the past few weeks, I not only had the impression that we were dragging our feet but that we were also faced with a possible retrogression in our negotiations. This picture is all the more disconcerting as the necessary political and material prerequisites for the timely and successful conclusion of our chemical weapons negotiations exist. History does not repeat its offers. The state of our work on verification issues and, in particular, the discussions during the summer part of the session on ad hoc verification and challenge inspections have given cause for concern. Challenge inspections are considered to be an indispensable element and a corner-stone of the verification system. It is, as the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom, Mr. Waldegrave, recently put it, CD/PV.571 14 (Mr. von Wagner. Federal Republic of Germany) "the key to effective verification". My delegation therefore has always attached great importance to this issue in our negotiations. We have consistently advocated a rapid solution to this problem. This would not only 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be a diplomatic speech discussing the negotiations on a global convention to ban chemical weapons. The language used is formal and technical, indicating a focus on international relations and disarmament. The speaker mentions specific issues, such as verification and challenge inspections, which suggests a focus on international security and diplomacy.

**Category**
International relations, Health