The 1925 Geneva Protocol banning the use of chemical and biological weapons in armed conflict turned 100 on 17 June. The 6th issue of Historical Notes traces the origins of the Protocol to the 19th century and discusses the documents that immediately preceded it, including the 1919 Versailles Treaty and the discussions on asphyxiating gases at the 1922 Washington Naval Conference. The study delves deep into how asphyxiating gases and, later, bacteriological weapons entered the deliberations in the League of Nations, and how they unexpectedly became a topic in the negotiation of an arms trade treaty. Finally, the study analyses why Poland insisted of having bacteriological weapons included in the Protocol.

On 3 October 2025, the Pugwash Chemical and Biological Weapons Working Group (CBW WG) held its first event, drawing more than 75 persons from all continents, including the Middle East and North Africa, to a virtual meeting. The primary objective was to gather feedback on potential topics for the WG’s development, thereby gaining a deeper understanding of the WG’s specific role in the current academic and civil society landscape. Registrants completed a small questionnaire covering both topics.

Marking the anniversary of the protests in Tbilisi, the BBC World Service broadcast a powerful hour-long documentary on Georgia’s backsliding into repression reminiscent of the Soviet Union and the resilience of the pro-democracy and pro-European movement. The programme focussed heavily on excessive use of lachrymatory agents against the protestors, including the dispersal of camite via water cannon, and was supported with two articles on the BBC website centring on the claim.
If the allegation of camite deployment as a crowd control tool is accurate, the incident would echo the recent introduction of two other world war one toxicants: chlorine in the Syrian civil war and chloropicrin in the Ukrainian trenches.