Countering Biological Threats: National Implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention and Multinational Outbreak Response and Bioterrorism Investigation Demonstration

After-Action Report
Tbilisi, Georgia, 17-19 May 2011

This workshop was organized by the US Department of Defense (US European Command, Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency) and the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) with the support of the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health of Georgia (NCDC), the US-Georgia Central Public Health Reference Laboratory (CPHRL), and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. It included awareness training, a tabletop exercise designed to review the technical guidelines and procedures associated with the United Nations Secretary General’s Mechanism on Investigation of Alleged Use of Biological and Chemical Weapons (UNSGM), and a practical demonstration of consequence management capabilities of Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs CBRN Rapid Response Team…

Author:
Department of Defense (US European Command, Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency) and the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) with the support of the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health of Georgia (NCDC), the US-Georgia Central Public Health Reference Laboratory (CPHRL), and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia
Publish Date:
May 2011

Cures that Kill: Biosecurity and the Dual-Use Dilemma

China represents a key player in biosecurity negotiations, as it has been both the victim of one of the worst biowarfare campaigns of the 20th century, at the hands of the Japanese, and has been a source of numerous emerging and re-emerging diseases, SARS and H5N1 being the best known. Of equal importance to China’s role as an international biosecurity actor is the burgeoning growth of its life science and biotechnology industries. This paper contains observations from an ongoing study into biosecurity in China. It is based on interviews and discussions in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou with life scientists and policy makers in infectious disease hospitals, district level Centers for Disease Control (CDC) offices, university research labs, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Health.”
By Michael Barr

Author:
China Security
Publish Date:
2008

Deconstructing the Final Document of the BWC Seventh Review Conference – Workshop Summary

The Harvard Sussex Program (HSP) in association with the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) hosted a ‘Sussex Day’ workshop titled ‘Deconstructing the Final Document of the BWC Seventh Review Conference’. The meeting was attended by a number of interested parties, including NGOs and representatives of academia as well as individuals from various UK government departments and took place on Thursday 8th March 2012. The meeting was comprised of two sessions: the first on what happened and why; and the second looking at where we go from here?

As the rapporteur’s summary from this meeting indicates the issue of science and technology (S&T) was raised in both sessions of the workshop. It was noted that the annual S&T Standing Agenda Item that was agreed in 2011 has the potential to result in a number of different outcomes. It was suggested that discussion on the benefits and challenges posed by different developments in S&T would not necessarily result in recommendations, but would fill a perennial lacuna in scientific discussion under the Convention. In contrast, there was scope for developing recommendations when discussing topics that are more action-orientated, such as biological risk management or education and oversight. Examples of recommendations could include proposed methods to promote screening guidance for gene synthesis suppliers. Others suggested that the number and breadth of topics to be discussed under the Standing Agenda Item would make meetings very busy and open the way for potential mischief-makers, accordingly, it was agreed that the role of the Chair and the Vice Chairs would be important shaping the discussion.

Author:
James Revill
Publish Date:
2012

Defense of United States Agriculture and Food

Presidential Directive
Homeland Security Presidential Directive 9 (HSPD-9)
Signed: January 30, 2004

Defense of United States Agriculture and Food “establishes a national policy to defend the agriculture and food system against terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies.” Fulfilling the policy requires recognition of important agriculture and food infrastructure and ensuring their protection; development of mechanisms that provide early warning to threats; reduction of weaknesses during production and processing; enhancement of both product screening procedures; and response and recovery.

Degradation of Biological Weapons Agents in the Environment: Implications for Terrorism Response

This document is an investigative report on the “impact on effective terrorism response of the viability degradation of biological weapons agents in the environment” and briefly reviews “the scientific understanding and modeling of agent environmental viability degradation.” It also provides an analysis of the “time behavior and sensitivity of four mathematical models that are used to represent environmental viability degradation.”
By Amy L. Stuart and Dean A. Wilkening

Author:
Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISC)
Publish Date:
2005