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 weapons are banned; biological research is not”
Amid the barrage of lies accompanying Russia’s war against Ukraine, the Kremlin’s disinformation narrative that Ukraine is carrying out research to develop biological weapons stands out as particularly insidious. Not only does it attempt to justify Russia’s brutal invasion, but also discredit legitimate biological and epidemiological research worldwide, at the risk to global public health. In an interview with EUvsDisinfo, Dr. Jean-Pascal Zanders, founder of The Trench and an independent expert on disarmament questions covering chemical and biological weapons, talks about the crucial differences between legitimate biological research and the development of biological weapons and why Russia is engaging in …
Chemical Research
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Understanding the Dutch export licence requirement for publishing life science research
During the Meeting of Experts of states parties to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) last August, the Netherlands organised or co-hosted three side events relating to safeguarding the life sciences. A significant incident, in which the Dutch virologist Ron Fouchier and his team were required to obtain an export licence to publish their research on how they had mutated H5N1 into an aerosol-transmissible avian influenza virus variant, undeniably informed the need to clarify national policies and approaches to biorisk management. A month earlier the Appellate Court had annulled the ruling by a lower court in support of the …
The weaponisation of fentanyl
This blog posting is an extract from The Drugs Do Work… [PDF] published in CBRNe World (January 2025). Fentanyl is a powerful analgesic belonging to the class of fully synthetic opioids. Its main application is in the pain management of cancer patients and people recovering from major surgery. Paul Janssen, a Belgian pharmacologist focussing his early laboratory research on antispasmodics, anaesthetics and other pain relief medication, initially synthesised fentanyl in 1959 derived from structure–activity relationship studies of pethidine, a member of the phenylpiperidine class of fully synthetic opioids. Thirty years before, German researchers had first prepared pethidine (also known as …
Aiming for a future verification system for the BTWC
This posting is based on comments made during a panel on ‘The Future of Biological Weapons’ at the annual conference of the EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Consortium, held in Brussels on 13 November 2024. Previously 1996 was a year of optimism. Held between the opening for signature (January 1993) and entry into force (April 1997) of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), the Fourth Review Conference of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) decided to give the Ad Hoc Group (AHG) a mandate to negotiate a legally binding protocol to equip the BTWC with, among other things, a verification …
Confidence in disarmament: some insights from the treaties banning biological and chemical weapons
Confidence in disarmament: some insights from the treaties banning biological and chemical weapons (Video presentation, delivered in French on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Initiatives pour le désarmement nucléaire (IDN).) Hello everyone! I thank the organisers for inviting me to participate in this symposium to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the IDN. Congratulations! As you listen to my pre-recorded presentation, I am travelling from The Hague, where I attended the annual meeting of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), to Geneva, where I will participate in two and a half weeks of meetings of …
Announcement: BWC Advanced Education Course
[Applications open until 29 September] State Parties, particularly from the Global South, often lack the resources, knowledge, and expertise to participate in the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) diplomatic process more meaningfully. To address this challenge, UNIDIR, Diplo Foundation and FRS are organizing the BWC Advanced Education Course (BWCedu). The course will equip key stakeholders – government officials in capital with responsibilities in BWC implementation, aspiring and active diplomats and life scientists working on BWC issues and biological threats – with the essential knowledge, skills and expertise to actively participate in the BWC diplomatic process and thus contribute to a stronger …
Chloropicrin and its alleged use in the Ukrainian war (part 3)
The first instalment of this four-part blog series reviewed the allegations of Russian chemical weapon (CW) use in the Ukrainian war from its start in 2014 until the present. At the meeting of the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in March 2024, the Ukrainian delegate reported 1,060 incidents since the Russian invasion in February 2022. More recently, Ukraine claimed in a note verbale to the OPCW dated 13 June that it had recorded a total of 2,968 cases of Russian use of riot control agents (RCAs) between 15 February 2023 and 25 April …
Chloropicrin and its alleged use in the Ukrainian war (part 2)
The first of four parts in this blog series reviewed the allegations of Russian chemical weapon (CW) use in the Ukrainian war from its start in 2014 until today. The Ukrainian delegate reported 1,060 incidents since the Russian invasion in February 2022 at the meeting of the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in March 2024. On 23 May, the Wall Street Journal quoted Ukrainian sources that the number of CW incidents was quickly approaching the 2,000 mark: As of May 3, the Support Forces have confirmed 1,891 such attacks since they began tracking …