Below the headlines: CBW matters (10)
(A weekly digest from the internet on chemical and biological warfare issues. Emphasis is on incidents and perspectives, but inclusion of an item does not equal endorsement or agreement with the contents. This issue covers items collected between 17 – 23 April 2017.) Chemical warfare in Syria The chemical strike against Khan Sheikhoun Did Iran just violate the Chemical Weapons Convention? (Majid Rafizadeh, 10 April 2017): Both Iran and Syria are signatories of the international treaty, the Chemical Weapons Convention. International attention has been directed toward the Syrian government for the use of chemical weapons against innocent people. Nevertheless, the …
Pay up in the name of BW disarmament (2) – Civil society gets involved
On 2 April I described how non-payments by states parties were defunding the implementation of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) and risking to shut down the 3-person Implementation Support Unit (ISU) and the convening of meetings. A couple of weeks earlier the Ambassadors of the three Depository States – the Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States – had written an urgent letter to the BTWC States Parties to immediately comply with their financial obligations. Since then, the situation has ameliorated somewhat. The contracts of the ISU staff have now been extended until the end of the year. …
Below the headlines: CBW matters (9)
(A weekly digest from the internet on chemical and biological warfare issues. Emphasis is on incidents and perspectives, but inclusion of an item does not equal endorsement or agreement with the contents. This issue covers items collected between 10 – 16 April 2017.) Chemical warfare in Syria The chemical strike against Khan Sheikhoun The Aftermath of an Alleged Chemical Weapon Attack in Idlib (Alexandra Bradford, 5 April 2017): Dr. Abdel Hay Tennari, who treated at least 22 critical victims from the alleged toxic gas attack in Khan Sheikhoun, said his patients’ symptoms were consistent with Sarin gas and the field …
Below the headlines: CBW matters (8)
(A weekly digest from the internet on chemical and biological warfare issues. Emphasis is on incidents and perspectives, but inclusion of an item does not equal endorsement or agreement with the contents. This issue covers items collected between 3 – 9 April 2017.) Chemical warfare in Syria The chemical strike against Khan Sheikhoun ‘Toxic gas attack’ in Syria kills at least 58 people (Al Jazeera, 04 Apr 2017): Opposition says government or Russian jets pounded the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rebel-held Idlib. At least 58 people, including nine children, were killed in an air raid that released “toxic gas” …
Hate mail for standing up for CW disarmament – A first?
The news just broke that the Trump administration launched cruise missiles against al Shayrat airfield in Syria in response to the chemical weapons attack in Khan Sheikhoun, Idlib Province on 4 April. I then got the following message: As usual with such religion-infused hate messages, the basic facts are all wrong and ignorance reigns supreme. It is really sad that with so much intolerance concerning social relations, ethnicity and personal identity, the efforts at disarmament – a core tool in creating international stability, preventing the outbreak of war, or should that fail, escalation of the conflict – now too become …
CW attack in Khan Sheikhoun: Documents from the UNSC debate on responsibility
{Update 4 – 12 April 2017} This posting brings together the most important documents circulating at this stage. First, the minutes with the statements by UN Security Council (UNSC) members and debate on 28 February, during which a resolution to sanction certain Syrian individuals deemed responsible for the earlier CW attacks was vetoed, can be downloaded here. On 5 April, the UNSC held an emergency debate after the chemical weapon attack against Khan Sheikhoun, Idlib Province, Syria that killed scores of civilians – the death toll is now approaching 100 – and hundreds of other casualties. In a statement also …
Pay up in the name of BW disarmament
It was a remarkable act. On 21 March the Permanent Representatives to the UN Conference of Disarmament of the three co-depositories of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC)—the Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States—wrote to their colleagues in Geneva to address the question of ‘assessed financial contributions to the Convention’. The matter is extremely urgent: We have been informed that the funding currently available will only allow the [Implementation Support Unit – ISU] staff to have their contracts extended until end of April 2017. We, therefore, urge all States Parties to the Convention to pay their assessed contributions …
Below the headlines: CBW matters (7)
(A weekly digest from the internet on chemical and biological warfare issues. Emphasis is on incidents and perspectives, but inclusion of an item does not equal endorsement or agreement with the contents. This issue covers items collected between 27 March – 2 April 2017.) CBW disarmament Russia Destroys Last Remaining Supplies of Deadly Chemical Weapon Soman (Sputnik News, 26 March 2017): Russia’s last supplies of the deadly chemical weapon soman have been destroyed, Russia’s Federal Administration for the Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons announced on Saturday. OPCW Director-General delivers keynote address at the international symposium on toxic substances in …
Below the headlines: CBW matters (6)
(A weekly digest from the internet on chemical and biological warfare issues. Emphasis is on incidents and perspectives, but inclusion of an item does not equal endorsement or agreement with the contents. This issue covers items collected between 20 – 26 March 2017.) CBW disarmament Poroshenko replaces Ukrainian ambassador to the Netherlands (Interfax, 18 March 2017): Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has dismissed Oleksandr Horin from the post of Ukrainian Ambassador to the Netherlands and the post of permanent representative of Ukraine in the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. King to attend OPCW’s 20th anniversary commemoration in The Hague …
Below the headlines: CBW matters (5)
(A weekly digest from the internet on chemical and biological warfare issues. Emphasis is on incidents and perspectives, but inclusion of an item does not equal endorsement or agreement with the contents. This issue covers items collected between 13 – 19 March 2017.) Chemical warfare in Iraq Iraq says there is no evidence of ISIS chemical attack in Mosul (Rudaw, 12 March 2017): Iraq has “no evidence” that ISIS had used chemical weapons in Mosul, the country’s ambassador to the United Nations Mohamed Ali Alhakim told reporters on Friday. Alhakim made the remarks as the UN Security Council was briefed …