Remarks by Secretary of State Lawrence S. Eagleburger upon Signing the Chemical Weapons Convention

Paris, France January 13, 1993

Mr. President, Mr. Secretary, esteemed colleagues:

It is fitting that we meet to sign this historic Chemical Weapons Convention in a city where, four years ago, the international community appealed for the strengthening of norms against chemical warfare I am pleased to be in Paris, and I am especially pleased to represent my President, George Bush, a man who over the course of the past decade launched some of the key initiatives which helped to make this agreement possible.

But such has been the amazing record of the past few years. We have seen the international community liberate itself from half a century of gridlock and paralysis and move beyond the rhetoric of democracy to achieve real democracy; move beyond the rhetoric of detente to achieve real peace; and move beyond the rhetoric of disarmament to achieve real reductions in weapons of mass destruction.

The Chemical Weapons Convention we sign today does more than simply reduce a class of arms or mitigate against their proliferation: this Convention mandates a world-wide, non-discriminatory ban on an entire class of weapons of mass destruction - the only class of such weapons that has been widely used in combat. By the radical terms of this agreement, all signatory states foreswear the possession, production, stockpiling, transfer and indeed the use of chemical weapons; and all signatories must destroy all chemical weapons and chemical weapons production facilities in their possession. Moreover, the Convention's strict verification regime, which accommodates legitimate commercial and sovereign interests, sets an innovative standard for future multilateral agreements.

The international community is virtually united in support of the objectives of the Chemical Weapons Convention. However, there must be truly global adherence if the Convention is to achieve its purpose, and if doubts are to be eliminated over the commitment and intentions of those who fail to sign, ratify and fully comply with its terms.

Nowhere is this more important today than in the Middle East, a region which over the past 30 years has been home to more active chemical weapons programs – and which has seen more chemical weapons use – than any other part of the world. It is therefore particularly disappointing that so many Middle Eastern states are absent from this ceremony today.

The fact of the matter is that linking this Convention to other issues cannot affect the fate of those issues, but it will surely undermine the effect of this treaty in the one region most exposed to the danger of chemical weapons - namely, the Middle East. The point, I believe, is to tackle the challenge of weapons of mass destruction wherever we can and whenever we can. I would therefore urge the members of the Arab League to seize this opportunity and sign the Chemical Weapons Convention. Doing so would be a step forward, and not away from, making the Middle East a zone free of all weapons of mass destruction, as called for by President Mubarak of Egypt.

Today's ceremony is only the beginning of the work which lies ahead. Next month, the Preparatory Commission will meet in the Hague to work out the important and detailed provisions for implementing the Convention. The United States is fully committed to the success of those efforts, which will require the same broad support and participation which produced the successful Convention itself.

As I indicated at the beginning, the past few years have been a remarkably creative period of international achievement. Perhaps not coincidentally, I believe that President Bush's passage across the international scene has equally been one of tangible achievements, particularly in terms of the issue most important to the fate and future of the planet - the issue of weapons of mass destruction. George Bush's legacy will include landmark treaties as well as diplomatic efforts which paid non-proliferation dividends in Africa, South America, the Middle East and here in Paris today. But he knows, as all of us must know, that what we have accomplished to date will matter little unless we are prepared to confront the even greater proliferation dangers we most certainly will face in the years to come.

TEXT 14

Inns of Court

Inns of Court in London, group of four institutions of considerable antiquity that have historically been responsible for legal education. Their respective governing bodies, the benches, exercise the exclusive right of admitting persons to practice by a formal call to the bar. They consist of the Inner Temple and Middle Temple (both housed within the area known as The Temple), Lincoln's Inn and Gray's Inn – all of which are located in the general vicinity of the Royal Courts of Justice, at the boundary between the City of London and Westminster.

The Inns of Court are voluntary societies, unchartered and unincorporated. Hence, their early history is obscure. Since their inception in the Middle Ages, however, they have been devoted to the technical study of English law, rather than Roman law, which was taught in the universities. Previously, law was learned in the course of service, the first rudiments possibly in private clerkship to some official. By the mid-13th century, when the common law had become extensive and intricate, there arose a class of men, literate but lay, who created and dominated the legal profession and set up the Inns of Court as an answer to the problem of legal education. Manuals and books were produced in French rather than Latin. The students listened to arguments in court and discussed law among themselves.

In addition to those who practiced in the courts, there was also a large demand for stewards and legal advisers to landowners to conduct general business and keep manorial courts. These men needed the rudiments but not the refinements of common law. Such, too, was the case with the large class of attorneys and a growing class of bookkeepers and correspondence clerks. They gained most of their knowledge through an Inn of Chancery, an institution for training in the framing of writs and other legal documents used in the courts of chancery.

In the 14th century many of the household clerks (clergy with at least minor orders) of the chancellor's office formed Inns and appear to have taken students for training. By the end of the century these Inns were in danger of being submerged by a flood of attorneys-to-be and students who used an Inn of Chancery as a preparation for entering an Inn of Court. Eventually, each Inn of Court secured control of one or more Inns of Chancery and supervised its affairs, appointed readers to teach in it, and later often bought its premises, becoming its landlord.

By the 15th century the Inns of Court were governed by their benchers, who had previously given at least two courses of lectures (readings) and who presided over mock arguments (moots) in which students argued difficult points of law before them.

Because the law was highly technical, proficiency could be acquired only by following the demanding studies of the Inns. In practice, the Inns thus had a monopoly over legal education. In the 15th and 16th centuries, however, many students joined the Inns for the purpose of getting a general education, rather than legal training. By the end of the 16th century the Inns of Court had begun to exclude attorneys and solicitors and refused to call them to the bar, with the result that attorneys especially fell back on the Inns of Chancery and finally came to form a profession distinct from that of the barristers.

By the beginning of the 17th century, all the Inns had acquired the actual ownership of their sites and begun building splendid halls, a process that continued through the century.

Various causes brought on the decline of this system of education. For one thing, the great activity of the printing press led students to rely more on printed material, and as a result they neglected attendance at readings and moots. The system broke down completely during the English Civil Wars; readings ceased in 1677, and only the fees survived. Having paid them, the student was deemed to have fulfilled his duties. With no readers to recommend students for call to the bar, the four Inns in the 18th century finally agreed to call students who had been in residence a stated number of terms. Later, it was settled that eating three dinners was equivalent to attending for the whole term. Meanwhile, the Inns of Chancery were no longer adequate for so large a group as the attorneys and solicitors, and these latter therefore created their own society.

In the 19th century the common law commissioners investigated the Inns of Court, which as a result took steps to resume their educational functions. Readerships were reestablished, and lawyers were engaged in teaching with a view to examinations conducted by the Bar Council of Legal Education, representing all four Inns.

In 1974 the Inns created an administrative body, the Senate of the Inns of Court and the Bar, which oversees such matters as finance, legal reform, and educational standards.

TEXT 15

WANTED

Crime: Armed Robbery

Location: South & South Park Streets

Date: November 13, 1999

The public's assistance is requested in identifying the person or persons responsible for an armed robbery on the southwest corner of the South St. and South Park St. intersection.

This crime occurred at 9: 30 a.m. on November 13, 1999.

At about 9: 30 a.m. the victim, a young visitor to the city, was walking south along South Park St. At the southwest corner of South Park St. and South St., the suspect jumped in front of the victim, pulled a knife from his jacket and said, " Give me your purse or you're stuck! " The victim handed it over and the suspect fled the scene of the crime.

The suspect is described as a white male, 20-25 years old, medium build, 5'2", moustache, blue eyes, short brown hair, pointed nose. He was wearing a red baseball cap with a Montreal Canadians logo, a dark blue jacket, green jeans and white sneakers.

This man is armed and therefore dangerous. If you can identify the man in the photofit picture, or have any information on this or any crime, contact the local Police Department or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-555-8477, and you may be eligible for a cash reward.

TEXT 16

MURDER OF U.S. NATIONALS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES; CONSPIRACY TO MURDER U.S. NATIONALS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES; ATTACK ON A FEDERAL FACILITY RESULTING IN DEATH

USAMA BIN LADEN

Aliases:

Usama Bin Muhammad Bin Ladin, Shaykh Usama Bin Ladin, The Prince, The Emir, Abu Abdallah, Mujahid Shaykh, Hajj, The Director

DESCRIPTION

Date of Birth Used:		Hair:	Brown
Place of Birth:	Saudi Arabia	Eyes:	Brown
Height:	6'4" to 6'6"	Sex:	Male
Weight:	Approximately 160 pounds	Complexion:	Olive
Build:	Thin	Citizenship:	Saudi Arabian
Language:	Arabic (probably Pashtu)
Scars and Marks:	None known
Remarks:	Bin Laden is believed to be in Afghanistan. He is left-handed and walks with a cane.

CAUTION

Usama Bin Laden is wanted in connection with the August 7, 1998, bombings of the United States Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. These attacks killed over 200 people. In addition, Bin Laden is a suspect in other terrorist attacks throughout the world.

REWARD

The Rewards For Justice Program, United States Department of State, is offering a reward of up to $25 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Usama Bin Laden. An additional $2 million is being offered through a program developed and funded by the Airline Pilots Association and the Air Transport Association.

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