Verification and Transparency: Learning from Project Coast
Introduction to Historical Notes, Issue #5 The fifth issue of the Historical Notes series was prepared by Professor Brian Rappert, Ms Lizeka Tandwa and Dr Chandré Gould. The South African Defence Force (SADF) established a top-secret chemical and biological weapon (CBW) programme code-named ‘Project Coast’ that operated between 1981 and 1995. Its primary aims were to develop a defensive capability for the SADF and weaponise chemical agents for crowd control, specifically during protests, and for the targeted assassinations of political activists in and outside of South Africa. The history and motives of this CBW programme, as far as it can …
Russia’s apoplexy over biological research – Implications for the BTWC and its Articles V and VI
Since the summer, Russia has been adding chapters to the history of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) with its allegations of treaty violations against Ukraine and the USA. So far, it has culminated in convening a Formal Consultative Committee (FCM) under BTWC Article V in September and filing an Article VI complaint accompanied by a draft resolution proposing an investigative commission with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in October. The FCM was inconclusive because states parties reached no consensus on whether Moscow’s allegations have merit. Notwithstanding, a large majority of participating states rejected the accusations in their …
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 …
The Retort: Evolving CBW disarmament challenges
Dr Brett Edwards (Lecturer, University of Bath) and Professor Lijun Shang (School of Human Sciences, Metropolitan University London) are collaborating on The Retort, a new series of educational video recordings via YouTube on chemical and biological weapons (CBW), their disarmament, and the evolving threats they still pose. The recordings aim to give the public a general understanding of issues ahead of the review conferences of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (28 November – 16 December 2022) and the Chemical Weapons Convention (May 2023). For each video recording, the intiative takers invite an expert in the field. So far, three …