Statement to Biological Weapons Convention Preparatory Committee, endorsed by The Trench
Statement to Biological Weapons Convention Preparatory Committee, Geneva 4 April 2022 Presented by Dr Filippa Lentzos, King’s College London Mr Chair, Distinguished Representatives: We condemn Russia’s unprovoked military invasion and its continuing war against Ukraine. We stand with the government and people of Ukraine, and we urge Russia to stop its brutal attacks. We echo the call by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and UNFPA to immediately cease attacks on hospitals, ambulances and medical staff.[1] It is an unacceptable strategy and tactic.[2] Mr Chair, Russia accuses Ukraine of working on biological weapons supported by the United States and other …
Inserting useful tools into the BTWC
Since that fateful year of 2001, when the Ad Hoc Group (AHG) negotiations on a legally binding protocol to strengthen the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) collapsed and the 5th Review Conference failed following an attempt by the Bush Administration to terminate the AHG mandate, states parties have been trying to develop useful activities to keep the ailing treaty alive. A lot of what has been going on since then I would qualify as Beschäftigungstherapie—you know, engaging in games, energising dexterity and developing practical skills to strengthen and motivate an ailing patient. It worked to a large extent. But …
Non-proliferation assistance: A proliferation of national focal points?
On 9 December I attended a one-day seminar entitled Assistance and capacity-building in the context of UN Security Council Resolution 1540, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It took place in one of the committee rooms in the old building of the African Union Commission. It had none of the trappings of many modern high-tech venues, but offered all amenities one can wish for during a day-long meeting: an electricity plug under the desk (a civilisational advance that has yet to reach the main room for meetings of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, or BTWC, at the United …