The Biological Weapons Convention after November 2002.
The Fifth Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention, in November 2002, was the first to fail to produce a Final Document. It saw heated debate on non-compliance with the spirit of the prohibitions that it enshrines and marked the collapse of almost ten years of negotiations attempting to create a Protocol to strengthen the Convention. What was to emerge was a new process, very different from the traditional tools of arms control. This article examines the events that culminated in this drastic new approach, details the nature of this new process and discusses the possible short-, medium- and long-term impact of these events on the norm against the weaponization of disease.
Millett
Piers D
PD
Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford, West Yorks BD7 1DP. p.d.millett@bradford.ac.uk
D001694:Biological Warfare; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation