Expert Studies Urged At Geneva

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29791, 6 April 1962, Page 11

Expert Studies Urged At Geneva

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

GENEVA, April 4.

The United States urged the general disarmament conference today to start an immediate search for ways to eliminate safely the world’s weapons of mass destruction, the Associated Press reported.

An experts' group should be organised at once to seek methods of halting the production of nuclear material for war purposes and the conversion of existing stockpiles to peaceful uses, the American delegation said. As part of this programme, the United States Ambassador (Mr Dean) introduced a partial draft treaty looking toward complete disarmament.

The A.P. report said Mr Dean also directed his firmest appeal yet to the Soviet Union to accept a nuclear ,est ban treaty with adequate international controls.

The Russian side gave him a negative answer and accused the Americans of wanting to spy out military targets in the Soviet Union. More than 100 mothers today petitioned the disarmament conference to ban nuclear weapons tests. The 103 women, from 10 countries, were received jointly by Mr Dean and Mr Valerian Zorin, the United States and Soviet co-chair-men of the conference, after they had marched in procession to the Palais des Nations. European headquarters of the United Nations. The petition made this fivepoint plea: (1) No more testing of nuclear weapons.

(2) No further dispersion of nuclear arms to nations or groups of nations.

<3 Agreement upon staged and controlled disarmament.

(4) Immediate action in areas where agreement has been reached. <5 Continuation of negotiations until agreement is reached on general and complete disarmament.

The petition said: "We women, who are a part of the creative force of the world and are representative of different ideologies and social systems, assemble here in Geneva, Switzerland, to express the hopes and fears of all women in their deep concern for the survival of mankind."

In a press statement later, the "Strike for Peace” contingent said that neither Mr Dean nor Mr , Zorin could resist maintaining that their own Government was right. "There was no applause—many of the women were weeping,” the statement said. "General consensus was that we had witnessed a mord modified but still polished performance of the two practiced performers.”