Chemistry International
Vol. 21, No. 3
May 1999
News from IUPAC
Project on Strengthening
the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention
As negotiations to agree upon a compliance and verification
protocol for the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWTC)
approach the endgame at the United Nations in Geneva, the Project on
Strengthening the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, based at
the University of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK, aims to raise
the profile of the negotiations among interested parties in academia,
science, and industry, and among policymakers and opinion formers on
a worldwide basis.
The BWTC bans development, production, acquisition, stockpiling,
and retention of an entire class of weapons. Unlike existing arms-control
regimes that relate to nuclear and chemical weapons of mass destruction,
however, the BTWC, which came into force in 1975, lacks verification
measures to ensure that States Parties are in compliance with the Convention.
Since 1994, an Ad Hoc Group, meeting at the United Nations
in Geneva, has been mandated to: "consider appropriate measures,
including possible verification measures, and draft proposals to strengthen
the Convention, to be included, as appropriate, in a legally binding
instrument, to be submitted for the consideration of the States Parties".
Requirements for declarations, procedures for visits to
facilities, and provisions for investigations together with safeguards
for confidential information have emerged from the negotiations as central
and essential elements of the Protocol. They are also the elements of
the Protocol that are of greatest relevance to the scientific community.
There exists the real possibility that agreement on strengthening
the BTWC will be reached over the next 12 to 18 months, although the
final details have yet to be negotiated before the Protocol can be successfully
completed.
For the past four years, the Bradford-based Project on
Strengthening the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention has been engaged
in disseminating information relating to the negotiations to interested
parties. To date, the Project has provided some 19 briefing papers on
issues of key importance to the negotiations to strengthen the Convention.
The briefing papers have been prepared to aid the negotiators of the
Protocol in successfully meeting the objectives of their mandate. Electronic
versions of the briefing papers and related information have been posted
on the Project's web site at http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/sbtwc.
In the near future, in order to raise the profile of this issue among
the scientific community on a worldwide basis, the Project will launch
an expert-level online discussion forum on issues facing the Ad Hoc
Group during the final stages of the negotiations.
It is in everyone's interest that the BWTC is strengthened
through the successful implementation of a compliance protocol, and
it is important that the scientific community is aware of and can monitor
developments in Geneva during the final stages of the negotiations.
Simon Whitby
University of Bradford
West Yorkshire, England, UK