BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS UPDATE
8 November 2006
In this issue:
Previous editions of Biological Weapons Update are available
at: http://www.basicint.org/update/bwu.htm.
Launch of Briefing Book for the BWC Sixth
Review Conference 2006
The British American Security Information Council (BASIC),
the Harvard-Sussex
Program and VERTIC
have prepared a 'Briefing Book for the BWC Sixth Review Conference
2006 (available from the BASIC website
from 9 November). It is intended to aid delegates to the Sixth
Review Conference of the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention
(BWC) and thus contribute to a constructive and successful
outcome. The conference will be held 20 November-8 December
2006 in Geneva, Switzerland.
The book will be launched at a panel discussion hosted by
the Geneva Forum at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on 9
November. It will also be available to download from the three
websites from the same date. The book contains official documents
and other texts relating to the biological weapons regime,
including:
- official BWC documents (such as the Final Documents from
the previous five Review Conferences);
- documents from the United Nations, other international
organisations and regional organisations;
- documents from informal instruments and arrangements;
and
- supporting material from various non-governmental organisations
(NGOs).
It will also be a useful resource for researchers, non-governmental
organisations, journalists and others in civil society with
an interest in the biological weapons regime embodied in the
BWC.
BASIC, HSP and VERTIC are grateful to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for funding the
book.
Arms Control
The October issue of Arms Control Today had this article by Christopher
Chyba on the challenges to arms control posed by advances
in biotechnology.
The same issue also has an article by John Borrie on
efforts to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention.
The BWC Sixth Review Conference has established a
website that has a lot of interesting news and documentation.
Bioterrorism
This study released
October 16 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies
addressed bio-threat and response scenarios, risk assessment,
modern diagnostic techniques and methods to strengthen capabilities
for early detection, surveillance and response to natural
and bioterror disease outbreaks. It also examined the technical
issues to be solved and political, social and psychological
aspects of bioterrorism.
The Washington Post
reported October 31 on a past attempt by al-Qaeda to create
its own anthrax weapon.
Laboratories
A U.S. federal appeals court
ruled on October 16 that the Department of Energy must
take the possibility of terrorist actions into account before
opening a biodefense facility at the Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory in California. The decision affirmed a lawsuit
filed by Livermore-based Tri-Valley Communities Against a
Radioactive Environment, which alleged such an attack on a
Livermore biowarfare research lab could have a disastrous
effect on the surrounding community.
Vaccines
Associated Press reported in late September that scientists
are reporting progress on developing a new vaccine, developed
by Avecia, a London company, and the Defense Science and Technology
Lab, part of the U.K. Ministry of Defense, that they hope
will work faster and with fewer side effects than the current
one
On September 26 the U.S House of Representatives
approved a bill that could provide a boost to vaccine
manufacturers, including Michigan-based Bioport Corp., which
has a $120 million contract with the federal government, for
the stockpile of medicines, called Project BioShield, which
is designed to make 5 million doses of anthrax vaccine by
September 2007. The bill is expected to advance the development
of drugs and responses to bioterrorism and outbreaks of diseases
such as avian flu.
On October 16 the U.S. Department of Defense announced
it will resume mandatory anthrax vaccinations for more than
200,000 troops and defense contractors within 60 days, rejecting
the concerns of some veterans and service members who say
that the vaccine has not been proved safe or effective.
According to a
study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research
Center published online in the International Journal of Infectious
Diseases, mass vaccination would not be necessary in the event
of a large-scale smallpox bioterrorist attack in the United
States.
A newly identified antibody capable of neutralizing the inhalation
anthrax toxin in rabbits and monkeys may offer an alternative
method of preventing and treating infection in humans say
U.S. researchers. Their findings appear in the
October 2006 issue of the journal Infection and Immunity.
Publications
Treasa Dunworth, "National Implementation Of The Biological
Weapons Convention," Journal of Conflict and Security Law,
1 March 2006, C&S Law 2006 11 (93).
AL-AQSA MARTYRS BRIGADES
CLAIM TO HAVE CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS, WMD INSIGHTS,
OCTOBER 2006.
Jonathan B. Tucker, "Preventing the Misuse of Biology: Lessons
from the Oversight of Smallpox Virus Research," International
Security, Fall 2006, Vol. 31, No. 2.
VERTIC,
A new strategy: strengthening the biological weapons regime
through modular mechanisms, (Verification Matters No.
6), October 2006.
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