Below the headlines: CBW matters (18)
(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 12 – 18 June 2017.) CBW disarmament “Sarin chemical agent stockpiles completely eradicated in Russia”: official (Ivan Castro, 12 June 2017): All the stockpiles of sarin chemical agent in Russia have been liquidated, Russian Interfax agency reported citing Colonel General Valery Kapashin, head of the Federal Agency on safe keeping and liquidation of chemical weapons. China, OPCW pledge further cooperation (Xinhua, 12 …
Below the headlines: CBW matters (16)
(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 29 May – 4 June 2017.) CBW disarmament OPCW team inspects Roxy Paints factory (BSS, 28 May 2017): A two-member inspection team of Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has visited the Roxy Paints Limited, 1st Unit at Hazaribag in the capital [of Bangladesh] and inspected the factory. Russia Destroys Nearly 99% of Chemical Weapon Stockpile Under CWC – Official …
Below the headlines: CBW matters (14)
(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 15 – 21 May 2017.) CBW disarmament Letter dated 5 May 2017 from the Secretary-General addressed to the President of the Security Council: Status of the implementation of the plan for the destruction of Libya’s remaining category 2 chemical weapons outside the territory of Libya (S/2017/401). OPCW’s 15th regional meeting of national authorities kicks off in Dubai (Press release, 16 May 2017): …
Below the headlines: CBW matters (13)
(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 8 – 14 May 2017.) Chemical warfare in Syria Who to believe about Syria? (Tim Hayward, 18 April 2017): I’m no expert about Syria, so why these blogposts? The initial stimulus was realising that people of good will and similar ethics can have some markedly contrasting views of the situation in Syria. This was a puzzle to me. And given the gravity …
Building A WMD-Free Zone on Existing Treaties and Conventions Syrian CWC-Adherence and Reactions, Especially in Israel
Speaking notes for the side event to the 2017 Preparatory Committee of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), organised by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) and Academic Peace Orchestra Middle East (APOME), Vienna, 8 May 2017. It builds on and updates an earlier posting of 13 March 2015. Operation of the CWC in the Middle East As of 1 May 2017, the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) comprises 192 states parties. The CWC entered into force 20 years ago, on 29 April 1997. It has the largest number of parties of any weapon control treaty. Four states, including two from …
Below the headlines: CBW matters (11)
(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 24 – 30 April 2017.) Chemical warfare in Syria The chemical strike against Khan Sheikhoun Perpetrator of second largest chemical attack in Syria identified (Orient Net, 5 April 2017): Observatories operating in the provinces of Hama and Idlib revealed the identity of the commander of the aircraft that carried out the massacre on Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib countryside, which marked the second …
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 …
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” …
Beneath the Crust …
… the lava continues to flow unseen by the casual observer standing above On 3 November I was invited to speak at an international conference in Brussels organised by the European Union (EU) Non-Proliferation Consortium. The session was called: The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) – Maintaining Relevance. I found the title intriguing. Is the BTWC losing its relevance one way or another? Is this treaty in jeopardy? A widely shared opinion has it that the BTWC is a weak treaty. Yet always unspoken remain the criteria by which people assess the treaty’s weakness. They often point to the …
Statement to the UNGA 1st Committee by the Global Civil Society Coalition for the Biological Weapons Convention
[Endosed by The Trench] Statement to the UN General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security, New York, 12 October 2016 Delivered by Kathryn Millett on behalf of the Global Civil Society Coalition for the Biological Weapons Convention Mr. Chair, Disease, especially deliberate disease, poses a major risk to international security, whether directed at humans, animals, or plants. Public health emergencies connected to Ebola and Zika virus have illustrated how far we have to go before we are sufficiently prepared to overcome challenges in global health security. The human, economic, social and political costs of natural, accidental, and deliberate …