The Australia Group and the prevention of the re-emergence of chemical and biological weapons
The European Union Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Consortium held its 11th Consultative Meeting in Brussels on 15 and 16 September 2022. Its central theme was the “Topicality of multilateral export control regimes”. On the second day, one of the four breakout sessions addressed the Australia Group, an informal arrangement coordinating technology transfer controls relating to dual-use agents and equipment with potential relevance for developing and producing chemical and biological weapons. Introducers were Ms Esmée de Bruin (Netherlands), Dr Mónica Chinchilla (Spain) and Ms Élisande Nexon, PharmD (France). I had the honour of moderating the session. The three speakers have different backgrounds, …
Response is failure in the primary mission of preventing CBW
The Global Partnership against the Spread of Materials and Weapons of Mass Destruction has now been around for over two decades. In the wake of the terrorist attacks against the US in September 2001, it started out as an effort to mobilise the resources of the G8 members to prevent terrorist acquisition of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, and related materials. The weapons, technologies and skills available from the former Soviet Union presented a significant proliferation risk, which the US was already addressing through the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) programme. Now comprising 31 members, the Global Partnership (GP) played a …
Falling between the Cracks and by the Sides
Next month, Essentials of Biological Security: A Global Perspective edited by Lijun Shang, Weiwen Zhang and Malcolm Dando will be published. The book offers an introduction to biological security and the chemical and biological weapons (CBW) threat spectrum and explores the history of biological weapons from antiquity to modern day. Its core comprises expert analyses of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and other relevant international agreements and organisations and practical discussions of dual-use technologies and how to minimise their risk. (For a preview of the book contents, click here.) I contributed the chapter Falling between the Cracks and by …
The BTWC Confronting False Allegations And Disinformation
Introduction Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Following Russia’s occupation of territory in the east, north and south of Ukraine, it took possession of several biological research facilities. Partly based on documents it claimed to have recovered from these facilities, Russia alleged that the United States had been sponsoring biological activities in Ukraine violating the 1972 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction (Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, BWC), a disarmament treaty that outlaws the development, acquisition and possession of biological weapons. During the first few …
Heard It on the X: The active US biological weapons programme in Ukraine
Do you remember the 1975 song ‘Heard It on the X’ by the Texan blues-rock band ZZ Top? In the 1960s and 70s, the ‘X’ referred to the first letter of the codes for Mexican private radio stations. Contrary to their American counterparts, they broadcast with unlimited wattage and thus covered most of the USA. Anybody could buy any amount of radio time. So, many US preachers and other quacks exploited the opportunity to peddle their ‘truths’, Jesus-autographed prayer cloths, snake oils, or whatever. Almost half a century later, Elon Musk bought Twitter, rebranded it ‘X’, and began pushing his …
On the medieval siege of Caffa and Black Death
Catapulting corpses? A famous case of medieval biological warfare probably never happened By Matt Field, August 10, 2023 Poke through the history of biological weapons long enough and you will likely come across a particularly macabre claim. In 1346, the story goes, an army of the Golden Horde—an offshoot of Genghis Khan’s Mongol empire—was laying siege to Caffa, a Genoese trading center on the Crimean Peninsula. But as Janibeg, the ruler of the Golden Horde, waited for Caffa to surrender, his fighters began to succumb to a mysterious ailment. “It was as though arrows were raining down from heaven to …
Verification and Transparency: Learning from Project Coast
Introduction to Historical Notes, Issue #5 The fifth issue of the Historical Notes series was prepared by Professor Brian Rappert, Ms Lizeka Tandwa and Dr Chandré Gould. The South African Defence Force (SADF) established a top-secret chemical and biological weapon (CBW) programme code-named ‘Project Coast’ that operated between 1981 and 1995. Its primary aims were to develop a defensive capability for the SADF and weaponise chemical agents for crowd control, specifically during protests, and for the targeted assassinations of political activists in and outside of South Africa. The history and motives of this CBW programme, as far as it can …
Russia’s apoplexy over biological research – Implications for the BTWC and its Articles V and VI
Since the summer, Russia has been adding chapters to the history of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) with its allegations of treaty violations against Ukraine and the USA. So far, it has culminated in convening a Formal Consultative Committee (FCM) under BTWC Article V in September and filing an Article VI complaint accompanied by a draft resolution proposing an investigative commission with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in October. The FCM was inconclusive because states parties reached no consensus on whether Moscow’s allegations have merit. Notwithstanding, a large majority of participating states rejected the accusations in their …
Biological weapon monitoring in Iraq
Introduction to Historical Notes, Issue #4 The fourth issue of the Historical Notes series was prepared by Dr Gabriele Kraatz-Wadsack. She was a weapons inspector with the UN Special Commission (UNSCOM) in Iraq, later Chief of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Branch – UN Office for Disarmament Affairs. She also served in the German Armed Forces and the Federal Foreign Office. In this fourth issue of Historical Notes, she describes the only instance of international monitoring in the biological weapons (BW) area. It draws on her first-hand experience to launch and manage biological ongoing monitoring in Iraq from 1995 through …
The Retort: Evolving CBW disarmament challenges
Dr Brett Edwards (Lecturer, University of Bath) and Professor Lijun Shang (School of Human Sciences, Metropolitan University London) are collaborating on The Retort, a new series of educational video recordings via YouTube on chemical and biological weapons (CBW), their disarmament, and the evolving threats they still pose. The recordings aim to give the public a general understanding of issues ahead of the review conferences of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (28 November – 16 December 2022) and the Chemical Weapons Convention (May 2023). For each video recording, the intiative takers invite an expert in the field. So far, three …