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 …
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 …
“Biological weapons are banned; biological research is not”
Amid the barrage of lies accompanying Russia’s war against Ukraine, the Kremlin’s disinformation narrative that Ukraine is carrying out research to develop biological weapons stands out as particularly insidious. Not only does it attempt to justify Russia’s brutal invasion, but also discredit legitimate biological and epidemiological research worldwide, at the risk to global public health. In an interview with EUvsDisinfo, Dr. Jean-Pascal Zanders, founder of The Trench and an independent expert on disarmament questions covering chemical and biological weapons, talks about the crucial differences between legitimate biological research and the development of biological weapons and why Russia is engaging in …
Statement to Biological Weapons Convention Preparatory Committee, endorsed by The Trench
Statement to Biological Weapons Convention Preparatory Committee, Geneva 4 April 2022 Presented by Dr Filippa Lentzos, King’s College London Mr Chair, Distinguished Representatives: We condemn Russia’s unprovoked military invasion and its continuing war against Ukraine. We stand with the government and people of Ukraine, and we urge Russia to stop its brutal attacks. We echo the call by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and UNFPA to immediately cease attacks on hospitals, ambulances and medical staff.[1] It is an unacceptable strategy and tactic.[2] Mr Chair, Russia accuses Ukraine of working on biological weapons supported by the United States and other …
Trying to picture a treaty for a Middle East Zone free of non-conventional weaponry
On 30 November, the Middle East Treaty Organisation (METO) – a coalition of civil society activists and practitioners – organised an informal virtual discussion round with Middle Eastern diplomats participating in the Second Session of the Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction under the auspices of the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs. That session should have taken place last year, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced postponement of in-person UN diplomatic gatherings. Last Tuesday’s informal discussion forms part of METO’s efforts to draft and promote a treaty for …
Biological weapons: A surprise proposal from Kazakhstan worth exploring
This year the UN General Assembly (UNGA) celebrates the 75th time in session. However, the worldwide spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) casts dark shadow over the anniversary with some of the major global players preferring to play geopolitics when nations should unite to combat a germ that knows no borders. Unsurprisingly, many heads of state or government, ministers and other dignitaries have reflected in their statements on the pandemic and the challenges ahead. Some introduced constructive suggestions to address the factors that led to the outbreak at the end of last year. Others put forward …
A Middle East Zone Free from Non-conventional Weapons (4)
Part 4: Clear legal definitions at the core of the future treaty This article is the fourth in a series of blog postings exploring the opportunities and challenges facing a new series of conferences at the United Nations in New York to eliminate non-conventional arms – essentially nuclear weapons, and to a lesser extent chemical and biological weapons (CBW) – from the military arsenals in the Middle East. Why legal definitions matter By adopting Decision 73/546 on 22 December 2018, the UN General Assembly tasked the newly established conference with ‘elaborating a legally binding treaty establishing a Middle East …
A Middle East Zone Free from Non-conventional Weapons (3)
Part 3: Defining the Middle East, a loaded question In November 2019 a conference at the United Nations in New York (report here) marked a fresh round of diplomatic efforts to eliminate non-conventional arms – essentially nuclear weapons, and to a lesser extent chemical and biological weapons (CBW) – from the military arsenals in the Middle East. As indicated in the second part of this series, participants in the new conference series depart from the definition of the Middle East used by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). At the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) seminar ‘The Middle …
A Middle East Zone Free from Non-conventional Weapons (2)
Part 2: Treaties governing chemical and biological weapons In November 2019 a conference at the United Nations in New York marked a fresh round of diplomatic efforts to eliminate non-conventional arms – essentially nuclear weapons, and to a lesser extent chemical and biological weapons (CBW) – from the military arsenals in the Middle East. This article is the second in a series of blog postings exploring the opportunities and challenges to ensure that the regional risks of CBW threats and use – chemical weapons (CW) were and, as I am writing, are part of conflicts in the Middle East …
A Middle East Zone Free from Non-conventional Weapons (1)
Part 1: A new process to disarm the Middle East In November 2019 a conference at the United Nations in New York marked a fresh round of diplomatic efforts to eliminate non-conventional arms – essentially nuclear weapons, and to a lesser extent chemical and biological weapons (CBW) – from the military arsenals in the Middle East. The previous initiative died in 2015 as the review conference (RevCon) of the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) failed to agree on a consensus document. The new series of annual meetings takes place outside the NPT RevCon cycle, which consists of a quinquennial …