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By Category: International

The Biological Weapons Convention: Proceeding without a verification protocol

BULLETIN OF ATOMIC SCIENTISTS — The Seventh Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) will be held this December in Geneva, with member states convening to assess the bioweapons nonproliferation regime and discuss ways to improve it. But is it worth trying to strengthen the BWC? Since its inception, the treaty has been plagued Read More »

May 10, 2011
| Filed under North America, International, and Policy & Initiatives
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A small pox, a big debate

ABC ONLINE — In a few weeks time the WHO will meet to consider whether or not to formally recommend that the last remaining stocks of smallpox virus be permanently destroyed. At least two laboratories in the USA and Russia are said to maintain stocks of the virus frozen in liquid nitrogen, presumably as a Read More »

May 5, 2011
| Filed under Europe, North America, Agents & Toxins, International, and Policy & Initiatives
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30 Organizations Issue Recommendations For Congress, Administration And FDA To Find Innovative Ways To Spur A New Era Of Global Health Breakthroughs

A coalition of 30 leading global health organizations that work on vaccines, drugs, and other tools and technologies that save lives today released a list of recommendations for US policymakers and regulators, calling for acceleration of scientific innovations and streamlining the approval of safe and affordable inventions in order to save more lives around the Read More »

May 4, 2011
| Filed under North America, International, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
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U.N. Chief Lauds Renewal of Anti-WMD Panel

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday lauded the Security Council’s decision last week to renew for 10 years the mandate of a panel charged with overseeing U.N. member states’ implementation of an anti-WMD measure (see GSN, April 21). “Concerted international cooperation and action remains vital to the prevention of proliferation of nuclear, chemical and Read More »

April 28, 2011
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, Biological Weapons, International, and Policy & Initiatives
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Plugging Holes Over Bioweapons

This December, the picturesque city of Geneva will host the Seventh Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). The BWC, which 163 countries are state parties to, prohibits the use, development, production and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons. In advance of the Review Conference, international delegates to the Convention met from April 13 Read More »