In his speech at the signing ceremony of the Chemical Weapons Convention, Foreign Minister Peres outlined steps to establish regional security and the construction of a mutually verifiable zone, free of surface-to-surface missiles and of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. In February 1993, Egypt approached Israel with a proposal to hold arms control talks on verification issues and to discuss Peres’ arms control initiative. As a follow up, the IAEA held a workshop on the Modalities for the Application of Safeguards in a future nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East in May 1993 and regional states met in Cairo in July 1993 for a verification workshop as part of the Arms Control and Regional Security Working Group.

Photo credit: UN Photo/Michel Claude

UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali in Paris for the signing of the Chemical Weapons Treaty. January 13, 1991