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Agency
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Activity
- Description |
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AG
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Australia Group
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Chaired by Australia,
the "Australia Group" was formed in 1984 as a result of CW use
in the Iran-Iraq War. Its monitoring actions dealing with the
exports of dual-use chemicals and biological equipment complement
measures in support of the 1925 Geneva protocol, the 1972 Biological
and Toxins Weapons Convention and the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention.
There are presently 30 members of the Group, including: Argentina,
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,
Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Slovak Republic, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
United Kingdom, United States of America, and the European Community
Commission (Observer).
-
Export Controls
on Materials Used in the Manufacture of Chemical and Biological
Weapons*
- Control List of
Dual-Use Chemicals: Commercial and Military Application
e.g. 1) Thioglycol for plastics
and CW mustard gas
2) Arsenic trichloride for ceramics
and CW Lewisite
- Control List of
Dual-Use Chemicals Manufacturing Facilities and Equipment, and
Related Technology
and
e.g. 1) Reaction Vessels, storage
tankers
2) Valves, Toxic Gas Monitoring
Systems and Detectors
- Control List of
Dual-Use Biological Equipment for Export Control
e.g. 1) Fermentors (100L capacity
and above)
2) Centrifugal Separators
- Control Core List
of Biological Agents ** comprised of
1) Viruses (20),
rickettsiae (4), bacteria (13)
2) GMOs containing
nucleic acid sequences associated with pathogenicity or coding
for toxins*** in the core list of micro-organisms
- Warning List****
comprised of
1) Viruses (8),
bacteria** (4), GMOs and toxins***
- List of Animal
Pathogens for Export Control** comprised of
1) Viruses (15),
and Mycoplasma mycoides, GMOs and Fungi (6)
- List of Biological
Agents for Inclusion in Awareness Raising Guidelines
1) Bacteria (2),
Fungi (2), Virus (1), and GMOs.
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APIC
|
Association for Professionals in
Infection Control and Epidemiology
Multidisciplinary and international
in concept and operation, APIC focuses on advancing, world-wide,
healthcare epidemiology and preventing illness and spread of infection
In partnership with the Centres
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has devised an APIC/CDC
Bioterrorism Readiness Plan: A Template for Healthcare Facilities.
The plan focuses on responses to bioterrorism built around the use
of anthrax, botulism toxin, plague and smallpox, post-exposure community
management, precise prophylactic decontamination measures specific
for the type of each biological threats in use, and development
of appropriate healthcare control and bio-defence measures to counteract
and neutralise future bio-based terroristic attacks that could lead
to the onset of epidemics. Diagnostic laboratory facilities and
implementation of surveillance and control measures, on a conventional
war scale are limited. In fact, preliminary planning in devising
effective measures have revealed that stockpiles of vaccines antibiotics
as effective bio-defence shields to restrict mass casualties, and
contain potential epidemics are either inadequate or non-existent
e.g. as witnessed in the tragedies in former Zaire, Rwanda and Kosovo.
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ASA
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Applied Science and
Analysis, Inc.
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· Established in
1983, this US-based international organisation,
1) specialises in nuclear, biological
and chemical defence world-wide, and provides expertise in:
- chemical and/or biological warfare
defence
- environmental management and protection
- public health preparedness and
risk assessment
- monitoring of nature, behaviour,
mobility and fate of undesirable biological and chemical agents
2) Disseminates knowledge and information
on topics such as:
- Biological Warfare and Vaccines,
and the Use of Toxic Chemicals as warfare agents
- Detection and decontamination
protocols for chemical and biological agents and toxins
- Chemical and biological medicinal
treatment and emergency responses to agrochemical and industrial
accidents and disasters.
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ATSDR
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Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry
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The Agency with
support of the US Department of Health and Human Services provides
technical assistance on:
- Methodologies and protocols in
mitigating and preventing exposure to hazardous substances into
the environment
- developing responses to counter
chemical-based terrorism using chemicals as skin-irritant, and
choking agents
- decontamination and neutralisation
of oil-improvised incendiaries detrimental to agriculture and
the environment
- hazards and risks posed by the
transportation of toxic chemical residues, and infectious clinical
and domestic wastes.
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Bradford-SIPRI
project
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The joint University
of Bradford-Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Chemical and Biological Warfare Project
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Project aims through
pooling of their Internet resources in providing a better dissemination
of information on the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention, the 1972
Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, and allied chemical and
biological warfare issues. On-line resources involve use of the
Bradford and SIPRI databases concerning bioweapons and chemical
weapons proliferation, containment and disarmament. Engaged in:
- Reporting of outbreaks of Diseases
as part of Confidence- Building Measures in accordance with the
WHO International Health Regulations (IHR - see also under FAS)
and the Pan American Sanitary Code administered by the Pan American
Health Organisation (PAHO). The notifiable diseases are:
a) acute epidemic poliomyelitis
b) cholera
c) epidemic cerebrospinal
meningitis
d) epidemic lethargic encephalitis
e) influenza or epidemic
la grippe
f) plague
g) smallpox
h) typhoid and paratyphoid
fevers
i) typhus
j) yellow fever
- Reporting of outbreaks of Annual
Diseases to the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) in accordance
with the International Annual Health Code (IAH), and the International
Aquatic Annual Health Code (IAAH). Notifiable diseases are:
a) 16 different terrestrial animal
and bird diseases under the Animal Code:
- African horse sickness
- African swine fever
- Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia
- Foot and mouth disease
- Highly contagious avian
influenza
- Hog cholera (classical
swine fever)
- Lumpy skin disease
- Newcastle disease
- Peste des petits ruminants
- Rift Valley fever
- Rinderpest
- Sheep pox and goat pox
- Swine vesicular disease
- Vesicular stomatitis,
and
b) 10 aquatic animal diseases under
the Aquatic Animal Code:
-Bonamiosis
- Epizootic haematopoietic
necrosis
- Haplosporidiosis
- Infectious haematopoietic
necrosis
- Marteiliosis
- Mikrocystosis
- Oncorhynchus masou virus
disease (synonym: salmonid herpesvirus type 2 disease)
- Perkinsosis
- Spring viraemia of carp,
and
- Viral haemorrhagic septicaemia
(synonym: egtved disease)
- Surveillance of plant disease outbreaks
in accordance with the non-mandatory International Plant Protection
Convention.
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CBACI
|
Chemical and Biological
Arms Control Institute
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Activities focus
on projects and programmes dealing with:
- Non-proliferation and the elimination
of biological and chemical weapons
- international co-operation in
controlling Chemical and Biological Terrorism
- containing the development of
biological weapons arising from the misuse of technology resulting
from
- globalisation of a co-ordinated
policy of unilateral technology denial
- developing a multilateral technology
management strategic system that blends in confidence
-building measures the concerns
for technology protection with the benefits of technology sharing
- responding to the challenge of
conserving health as a defence rampant in the maintenance of global
security by focusing on global trends:
a) emerging and re-emerging diseases,
overburdened and outdated health infrastructures, and new epidemics
b) increasing resort to biological
aspects for use in biological warfare and bioterrorism
c) impact of disease on population
dynamics, regional and international markets, and by consequence
on economic and political stability.
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CBIAC
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Chemical and Biological
Defence Information Analysis Centre
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Serving as a focal
point for the US Department of Defence Chemical and Biological
Defence Information Services, CBIAC provides, on a limited basis,
publicly accessible information, through its web-site and the
CBIAC Newsletter technical information and updates on:
- The Progress and Prospects in
an overview of the Biological Weapons Convention
- Next Generation Technologies to
counter proliferation e.g.:
a) Miniaturised portable mass
spectro meter for field detection of chemical and biological
substances
- The Biological Integrated Detection
System (BIDS) Bunker which provides for training in detecting,
through air sampling and identification protocols, the presence
of biological agents in war condition
- Developing, testing and evaluating
a) Prepared readiness, and
b) Emergency response to threats
of biological warfare, and bioterrorism
- Developing, testing, evaluating
and maintaining:
a) High-quality easily accessible
equipment and accessories for use in prepared readiness and
emergency response operations
b) Developing computer-based instruction
manuals and exportable training kits for use on-site field operations.
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CBMTS
|
Chemical and Biological
Medical Treatment Symposium-Industry
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Series of specialised
symposia organised by Applied Science and Analysis, USA, since
1994 with focus on medical treatment for poisoning from chemical
and biological agents, agrochemical, pesticides, and industrials
chemicals. CBMTS meetings deal with:
- the scientific and technical emerging
responses required from the chemical, biological, pharmaceutical
and petrochemical industries in times of war, terrorist acts,
sabotage and accidents
- epidemiological surveillance an
emergency management methodologies when encountering biological
warfare and bioterrorism
- eco-terrorism
- incoming threats of bioweapons
and possible medical responses in countries in transition
- assessment of health impacts of
war, bioterrorism, accidents, and outbreak of infectious diseases.
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CNS
|
Centre for Non-proliferation
Studies
-
CNS, the world's
largest non-governmental organisation combating the spread of
weapons of mass destruction, is based in the Monterey Institute
of International Studies, California, USA, with offices in Washington
D.C., and Almaty, Kazakhstan
It is engaged in
a variety of subjects such as:
- Strengthening the Biological Weapons
Convention: Lessons from the UNSCOM experience*****
- International Organisations and
Non-proliferation project (IONP) Initiated in 1992, IONP emphasises:
a) the training of the next generation
of policy experts in the field of non-proliferation and its
varied aspects concerning ecological and chemical warfare
b) the development of practical
options for the updating and reinforcement of review and monitoring
processes,
c) reinforcement of the capacity
of international non-proliferation organisations in curbing
and eliminating the proliferation of weapons of mass
d) destruction, and inclusive
of biological and chemical ones
e) their valuable mediating role
in promoting substantive and sustainable dialogue between governmental
parties, and non-governmental sectors on the benefits of non-proliferation
of mass destruction weapons and arms control
Projects such
as:
- Chemical and
Biological Weapons Non-proliferation Project (CBWNP) founded
in 1996, monitors, in collaboration with the Centre for Global
Research of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the
proliferation of chemical and biological weapons (CBW), developing
strategies and confidence-building measures to create disincentives
for production and distribution of such weapons. The project
has focused through workshops on:
a) Sampling
and analysis
b) Inspection
procedures, and
c) Investigations
of suspicious outbreaks of disease, and
specialised reports such as:
a) The Threat
of Deliberate Disease in the 21st Century
b) Industry's
Role, Concerns and Interests in the Negotiation of a BWC
Compliance Protocol
c) Man Versus
Microbe: The Negotiations to strengthen the Biological Weapons
Convention.
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ECE
|
Economic Commission for Europe
Safety guidelines in biotechnology,
issued in 1995 within the framework of ECE activities that originate
from the 1986 Vienna Meeting of Representatives of the Participating
States of the Conference on Security and Co-operation (CSCE) in
Europe, focus on the exchange of information on laws and regulations
relating to the safety aspects of genetic engineering. Contributions
are from 30 countries in Europe and North America.
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EFB
|
European Federation of Biotechnology
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EU
|
European Union
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Designed in the
mid-1980s, the EU regulatory framework covers:
- contained use of genetically-modified
organisms (GMOs)
- deliberate release of GMOs
- protection of workers to risks
and biological agents during work
- product legislation (medicinal,
and plant protection products, novel foods, feed additives, seeds,
etc.)
- Intellectual property protection
- The Eurosurveillance bulletin
communicable diseases deals with surveillance networks supported
by the European Union, and co-ordinated by the European Centre
for the Epidemiological Surveillance of SIDA, St Maurice, France,
and the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, London, U.K.
- Disseminates printed and electronic
data emphasising the different national approaches to prevention
of communicable diseases, results of outbreak investigations,
and measures to minimise further outbreaks and occurrences.
- reports on the European Union's
efforts to:
(a) increase the exchange of information
in public healthcare and epidemiology
(b) promote the development of
national networks for surveillance of communicable diseases
in Europe
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EXTONET
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Extension Toxicology Network
A co-operative effort of the Universities
of California-Davis, Oregon State, Michigan State, Cornell and Idaho,
Exotonet issues toxicology information briefs and information profiles
concerning bioaccumulation; carcigenicity; cutaneous toxicity; toxicological
dose-response relationships; entry and fate of chemicals in humans
and the environment and risk assessment.
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FAO
|
Food and Agricultural Organisation
- Administers Code of Conduct on
the Distribution and Use of Pesticides
- Drafts Code of Conduct for plant
biotechnology as it affects the conservation and utilisation of
genetic resources
Emerging Prevention System for
Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases, (EMPRES)
- Established in 1993, as a FAO
Priority Programme, EMPRES is designed to prevent, control,
and eliminate animal and plant diseases that:
(a) easily spread across national
borders and boundaries
(b) jeopardize food security
and endanger national economies and international trade in
livestock and animal products
(c) necessitate use of early
warning systems to control emerging or evolving diseases
- Regional Monitoring System for
plant and animal pests on a priority basis Priorities in monitoring
are: contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, foot and mouth disease
(FMD), Newcastle disease, rinderpest, and rift valley fever.
No plant diseases are encountered as priorities.
Global Information and Early
Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS)
- Provides assessment of threats
to the current food situation, world-wide; highlights major food
emergencies, threats to food security by plant pests, and livestock
diseases.
Special Programme for Food Security
(SPFS)
- Designed to combat food insecurity
as a weapon in destabilising the economies of law-income food
deficit countries.
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FAS
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Federation of American Scientists
Originally founded in 1945 as the
Federation of Atomic Scientists by members of the Manhattan Project
who produced the first atomic bomb, the FAS focuses on the use of
science, technology and policy for global security through:
- Conduction, since 1989 of a
Biological and Toxins Weapons (BTW) verification programme which
focuses on:
a) development of confidence-building
political and technical measures for purposes of verification
b) arrangement of all signatures
to article, in spirit and action, by the terms of the BTW
Convention
c) development
of a legally building protocol that prevents further proliferation
of biotechnological applications for use by military in war
d) development
of network of early warning sites for monitoring emergency
infectious diseases in co-operation with WHO
e) emphasises the important
contribution of WHO's Revised International Health regulations
(IHR) to the compliance and verification regime, also referred
to as VEREX, of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC).
Program for Monitoring Emerging
Diseases (PROMED) involving world-wide e-mail consultations,
is reflected in consultative conference between experts in human,
animal and plant health. Since 1994, over 15,000 experts in some
150 countries participate in PROMED conferencing by e-mail on a
daily basis the identity of the following users:
- World Health Organisation (WHO)
- UN Agencies engaged in humanitarian
and relief work
- Laboratory Centres for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) Atlanta, USA
- Public Health Laboratory Service,
UK
- Pasteur Institutes in France
(inclusive of that in Tahiti) and Vietnam
- National Institute of Health,
Japan amongst several other prestigious bodies
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Henry
L. Stimson Centre
|
The Henry Stimson Centre
Named after Henry L. Stimson, a distinguished
individual in defence and foreign policy in service to 3 American
Presidents - Taft, Hoover, and F.D. Roosvelt, the Centre a non-profit
independent public institute which:
- is engaged in meeting challenges
to global and regional security and stability posed by economic,
environmental and demographic influences
- in developing problem-solving
initiatives that help minimise tensions arising from insecurity
fuelled by the development and proliferation of chemical and
biological weapons, and
- in inducting research analysis,
education and disseminating knowledge through the following
projects on:
a) Chemical and Biological Weapons
Non-proliferation
b) New Tools Peacekeeping
c) Training for Peacekeeping
d) The United Nations and Peacekeeping.
- Report 24: Biological Weapons
Proliferation: Reasons for Concern, Courses of Action, January
1998 of relevance with following chapter content:
a) The Threat of Deliberate
Disease in the 21st Century (Pearson, G)******
b) Industry's Role, Concerns,
and Interests in the Negotiation of a BWC Compliance Protocol
(Woollett, G.)
c) Doubts about Confidence:
The Potential Limits of Confidence-Building Measures for Biological
Weapons Convention (Chevrier, M.)
d) Verification Provisions
of the Chemical Weapons Convention and Their Relevance to
the Biological weapons Convention (Tucker, J.)
e) Man Versus Microbe: The
Negotiations to Strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention
(Smithson, A.E.)
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HSP
|
Harvard Sussex Programme (HSP) on
Chemical and Biological Warfare Armament and Arms Limitation
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ICAO
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ICGEB
|
International Centre for Genetic
Engineering and Biotechnology
International Conference on the
Peaceful Use of Biotechnology and the Convention on Biological Weapons
(BWC), July 1998, organised by the ICGEB and the Landau Network
- Centro Volta. Article 2 of the ICGEB, inter alia, provides for
action "to promote international co-operation in developing and
applying peaceful uses of genetic engineering and biotechnology,
in particular for developing countries"
- ICGEB provides a biosafety resource,
which is a scientific bibliographic database on Biosafety
and Risk Assessment in Biotechnology. Topics of concerns
focus on the environmental release of genetically-modified organisms
(GMOs) and the risks for animal and human health (e.g. allergies
and toxicity); for the environment (e.g. unpredictable gene
expression); and, for agriculture e.g. alteration of nutritional
values, and loss of biodiversity.
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IFMBE
|
International Federation for Medical
and Biological Engineering
Established in 1959 by a group of
medical engineers, physicists, doctors meeting in UNESCO, Paris,
France, IFMBE, has also promoted activities in medical physics,
and cellular and chemical engineering in improving the quality of
life and protecting the environment. Emphasis is also given to development
of healthcare technology as a component of the emergency response
to environmental disasters.
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IMO
|
International Maritime Organisation
- Issuance of IMO guidelines for preventing
the introduction of unwanted aquatic organisms and pathogens from
ship's ballast water and sediment discharges
- Joint IMO/WHO research on ballast
water as a medium in the spread of bacterial and viral epidemic-disease
organisms
- Species protocols and type of packaging
for authorised transmission of biological perishable materials
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IRRO
|
International Resources on the Release
of Organisms into the Environment
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Johns
Hopkins Centre (CBS)
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Johns Hopkins Centre for Civilian
Biodefence Studies
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MC
|
Mendoza Commitment
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OPCW
|
Organisation for the Prohibition
of Chemical Weapons
Established in 1998 to achieve the
objectives of the Chemical Weapons Convention; to ensure the implementation
of its provisions, to provide a forum for verification of compliance
with the Convention's protocols and to engender consultation and
co-operation amongst the States party to the Convention e.g. training
course in May, 1999 on Medical Defence against Chemical Weapons,
Tehran, Iran. Attention is also focused on the promotion of free
trade in chemicals, and on international co-operation and exchange
of scientific and technical information in the field of chemical
purposes for peaceful purposes.
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PHR
|
Physicians for Human Rights
Since 1986, PHR, an organisation
of health professionals, scientists and private citizens has mobilised
its medical and forensic resources to:
- investigate and prevent violations
of humanitarian law
- improve health and sanitary
environments and facilities in detention centres and prisons
- provide medical care during
times of war involving the use of all types of arms and weapons
- investigate violations of international
conventions in force prohibiting the misuse of harmful substances
and agents that erode human physical and psychological health
- investigate, research and document
the use of mustard gas in the Anfal campaign tear gas in Southeast
Asia, and poisonous agents elsewhere in regional conflicts.
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PhRMA
|
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers
of America
Committed to the discovery, development
and market production of breakthrough medicines to conserve human
and improve the quality of life, PhRMA has promoted scientific and
regulatory activities that focus on:
- Highlighting the dangers of
proliferation of biological and chemical warfare agents
- Handling and Disposal of Hazardous
Materials and Toxic Wastes
- Surveillance of Emerging Infectious
Diseases
- The Threats of Bioterrorism.
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PIR
|
Centre for Policy Studies in Russia
Established in 1994, PIR focuses
on international security, aims control, and civil-military issues.
Research studies focus, amongst other subjects, on:
- Nuclear, Biological and Chemical
Terrorism
- Educational programme on Arms
Control as Non-proliferation
- Sensitive Exports and Exports
Control Measures
- Destruction of Chemical Weapons
in Russia
- Analysis of implementation of
the Chemical Weapons, and Biological weapons Conventions.
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Pugwash
|
Pugwash
The village of Pugwash, Nova Scotia,
Canada is associated in the all Pugwash activities since 1957 when
it hosted the first conference of 22 eminent scientists from Australia,
Austria, Canada, China, France, Japan, Poland, the U.K., the USA,
and Russia (then USSR), to focus attention on the threat to civilisation
arising from the advent of thermonuclear weapons
Plays an important role in providing
an international forum in bringing together policy analysts and
advisers for in-depth discussions on: chemical and biological weapons;
crisis management in the Developing countries; promotion of sustainable
development, and conservation of the environment against the threats
of nuclear armoury and bioterrorist attacks
Workshop, in 1988, on Public Health
Systems in Developing Countries, in Habana, Cuba, focuses on the
erosion of human resources as a result of the interactive equation
between poverty and prevalence of infectious diseases; and on threat
of emerging diseases e.g. anthrax and small pox that have been contained
or eliminated, but which could result from reintroduction as a consequence
of the use of the corresponding microbial agents in bacterial weapons.
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RADISCON
|
The Regional Animal Disease Surveillance
and Control Network (RADISCON)
Designated for North Africa and
the Middle East and the Middle East and the Arab Peninsula is a
joint FAO/IFAD activity concerning 29 countries as follows:
- Maghreb/Sahel Sub-region: Algeria,
Chad, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco Niger and Tunisia
- Middle East Sub-region: Egypt,
Palestinian Authority, Israel, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon,
Syria and Turkey
- Arab Gulf Sub-region: Bahrain,
Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates
- Horn of Africa/Others Sub-region:
Ethiopia, Sudan. Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea and Yemen
The network, since June 1996, reinforces
methodologies in veterinary investigation laboratory diagnostic
and information services, through regional co-operation, and assistance
to the Animal Disease surveillance Systems of the network member
countries. As a result of such activities, preparedness efforts
and emergency responses to potential bio-based disasters are continuously
updated.
The value of FAO's different surveillance
systems is exemplified in the swift action undertaken, to contain
the outbreak of the debilitating FMD virus amongst beef cattle in
Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, through the RADISCON information network,
the FAO/OIE World FMD Reference Laboratory, Pirbright, U.K., the
EMPRES network (see above), and the Rome based European Commission
for the Control of FMD.
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RG
|
RIO Group
Established in 1986, and with the
membership of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico,
Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, the RIO Group:
- Established in 1986, and with
the membership of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador,
Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, the RIO
Group:
- promotes the establishment of
a weapons-of-mass-destruction-free zone in Latin America and
the Caribbean
- monitors the acquisition of
dual-use technology and its transfers
- prohibits the introduction of
chemical and biological weapons (of mass destruction) that threaten
regional security and co-operation as a result of an initiative
- the Cartagena Declaration launched by Peru in 1991, and adopted
by Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela
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SIPRI
|
Stockholm International
Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
-
The main areas
of SIPRI's research are:
- Implementation of the 1993 Chemical
Weapons Convention
- Developments concerning disarmament
of biological weapons
- CBW terrorism
- CBW demilitarisation and regional
concerns regarding armament and disarmament issues
-
SIPRI conducts
many research and academic activities. Amongst these is the Chemical
and Biological Warfare (CBW) project which began 30 years ago
in 1966, focuses on all developments regarding chemical and biological
weapons. These include establishing of efficient and verifiable
disarmament and use by terrorist and criminal groups. Other activities
are:
- Development of an Internet-based
educational module on weapons proliferation
- Acceleration of biological weapons
disarmament
- Monitoring of technology transfer
concerning knowledge, equipment and materials within the remit
of the Biological and Toxins Weapons (BTWC) and the Chemical Weapons
Conventions (CWC)
- Biological and Chemical Weapons
Disarmament in the Commonwealth of Independent States
- Conduction of SIPRI Chemical and
Biological Warfare studies amongst which are:
a) The International Organisation
for Chemical Disarmament (IOCD), No. 8, 1987
b) Verification of Dual-Use of
Chemicals under the Chemical Weapons Convention: The Case of
Thiodigylcol, No. 13, 1991
c) Control of Dual-Threat Agents:
The Vaccines for Peace Programme, No. 15, 1994.
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UNESCO
|
United Nations Educational
Scientific and Cultural Organisation
-
International Forum
on Possible Consequences of the misuse of Biological Sciences,
December, 1997, Como, Italy in collaboration with ICGEB, and Landau
Network - Centro Volta
- Supports programme on Toxic
waste management with special emphasis on biosystems at International
Chemical Studies (ICCS), Ljubljana, Slovenia, 1998
- International School for Molecular
Biology and Microbiology established at Hebrew University of Jerusalem
with motto Science for Peace, and in which framework programme
activities are carried out with UNESCO support (1994/1996)
- Through its Field Office in Venice,
UNESCO supports and endorses Genoa Declaration on Science and
Society issued in 1995 by representatives of national and
international scientific academies emphasising the role of science
in constructive dialogue between different cultures, and as powerful
antidote to intolerance, and to ideological and racial barriers
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UNEP
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UNIDIR
|
United Nations Institute
for Disarmament Research
-
Established in
1980 as an autonomous institute
- to carry out independent research
on disarmament and allied issues concerning international security
- to provide relevant data on problems
pertaining to international security, the arms race and disarmament
in all areas, with special emphasis in the nuclear field, for
purposes of facilitating greater security for all states, and
economic and social development of all peoples
- to promote informed participation
by all states in disarmament efforts e.g. "exchange of information
on all outbreaks of infectious diseases and similar occurrences
caused by toxins that seem to deviate from the normal pattern
as regards type, development, place, or time of occurrence. If
possible, the information provided would include, as soon as it
is available, data on the type of disease, appropriate area affected,
and number of cases."
- to improve international cooperation
in the field of peaceful bacteriological activities through a
conference of participants in projects and publications dealing
with
a) Biological Warfare and Disarmament:
Problems, Perspectives, Possible Solutions
b) The Transfer of Sensitive
Technologies and the Future of Control Regimes with a focus
on:
- Identifying Tomorrow's Key
Technologies in Weapon Systems, and in Weapons Components
- The Transfer of Dual-Use Technologies:
The Missing Link Between Security and Development
- Cooperative Technology Transfer
Controls: Forging New Approaches to Solve Old Problems
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UNIDO
|
-
United Nations
Industrial Development Organisations
- Pioneers in 1987, the institution
of ICGEB as UNIDO project
- Gives support, in 1991, to establishment
of the UNIDO/WHO/FAO/UNEP Informal Working Group on Biosafety
- Issues, in 1992, Voluntary
Code of Conduct for the Release of Organisms into the Environment
- Creates in 1995, Biosafety
Information Network and Advisory Service (BINAS) and releases
BINAS News in collaboration with ICGEB
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UNSCOM
|
United Nations Special Commission
(UNSCOM)
The Commission with a membership
of 21 Member States: Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic,
Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands,
Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, UK, USA, and Venezuela,
targets the elimination and destruction of suspected stockpiles
of anthrax spores, botulinum toxin and aflatoxin that were employed
for weaponization in aerial bombs and SCUD missile warheads prior
to the onset of the Gulf War.
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VERIFIN
|
Finnish Institute
for Verification of the Chemical Weapons Convention
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Initiated in 1973
as a chemical Weapons project, and as independent institute of
the University of Helsinki, VERIFIN:
- functions as the Finnish Authority
for the Chemical Weapons Convention
- helps in the development of analytic
methods for the disarmament of chemical weapons
- promotes postgraduate research
and teaching concerning the disarmament and elimination of chemical
weapons
- co-operation with OPCW and the
UN in the monitoring of compliance with the Chemical Weapons,
and Biological Weapons Convention.
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WASSENAAR
|
WASENNAAR Arrangement
on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies
-
The Wassenaar
Arrangement of 33 countries and whose secretariat is based
in Vienna, Austria came into force in 1995 as the successor to
the Co-ordinating Committee for Multilateral Exports (COCOM)
which was established in 1950, and is comprised of the original
17 COCOM members: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France,
Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway,
Portugal, Spain, Turkey, UK and USA, and since 1995, with the
addition of Argentina, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic,
Finland, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, the Russian
Federation, the Slovak Republic, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland,
and Ukraine with the following goals:
- Transparency in the transfer of
dual-use goods and technologies
- Minimization of destabilising
stockpiles of such goods
- Reinforcement of existing control
regimes and conventions for weapons of mass destruction, and elimination
of threats to international and regional peace and security resulting
from unmonitored transfer of sensitive dual-use goods and technologies
- Prohibition of militarisation
of sensitive dual-use goods and technologies
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WHO
|
World Health Organisation
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