Conference on dismantlement and destruction of nuclear, chemical and conventional weapons, 19-21 May 1996 [BICC Working paper]

From 19 to 21 May 1996, representatives of sixteen countries and five international organizations (see attached participants list) met at the Gästehaus Petersberg in Bonn, Germany, to discuss ongoing and future efforts in the dismantlement and destruction of nuclear, chemical and conventional weapons. Conceived and organized by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the German Foreign Office, and the Bonn International Center for Conversion (on behalf of the State of North-Rhine-Westphalia), the major impetus behind the conference, and the major steps included: - Bringing together the major actors involved in the dismantlement and destruction of nuclear, chemical and conventional weapons and highlighting the remaining technical obstacles still to overcome; - Reinvigorating the arms control process and bolstering the significant disarmament efforts already achieved; - Underlining the crucial importance of transparency, data exchange and verification as indispensable preconditions for disarmament and cooperative security.