UN panel calls for inquiry into use of chemicals arms

The UN General Assembly's main Political Committee called for an investigation of the reported use of chemical weapons in various regions of the world. The vote was 62 to 17, with the Soviet Union and its allies opposing the Western-sponsored draft resolution. There were 32 abstentions, and 11 delegations did not vote. The resolution did not specify where chemical weapons might have been used, although US spokesmen mentioned their possible deployment by Soviet troops in Afghanistan and Vietnamese forces in Cambodia and Laos.