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This website is designed to guide users through the
area of international treaties, conventions, standards and guidelines
applicable to biotechnology. |
Title: Draft Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Developing, Producing, Acquiring, Stockpiling, Retaining, Transferring or Using Biological or Chemical Weapons |
Summary of Provisions:This draft convention aims to add to the Biological and Chemical Weapons Conventions by recognising the responsibility of individuals in making the decisions about producing, using, stockpiling, etc., such weapons, and therefore criminalising such actions. It also aims to generally strengthen the international norms against such weapons. The role of non-state actors and sub-state groups is also recognised in the preamble, "...these activities are within the capability not only of states but also of other entities and individuals." (http://fas-www.harvard.edu/~hsp/crim01.pdf). The convention requires states to make domestic legal adjustments and establish appropriate penalties for the offences involved. These laws will not only apply for their own citizens and attacks on their own state but for any person within their jurisdiction and an attack on any state, or person. Importantly the convention choose to cover 'hostile intent' rather than just 'lethal intent', which it is argued would undermine the norms against so-called 'less than lethal' weapons, contained within the Biological and Chemical Weapons Conventions. The convention also covers such areas as the rights of the suspect (Article 6.3), extradition (Article 7), preventative measures (Article 12) and arbitration between states (Article 14). Summary of Development:The draft convention has been developed by a working group from the Harvard Sussex Program (HSP) on CBW Armament and Arms Limitation, following on from discussions held at a HSP workshop in May 1998. The current draft was updated in November 2001. Recent world events such as the anthrax attacks in the United States have demonstrated the need for such a regulation, and would clearly be covered as, "Crimes involving the hostile use of disease or poison and the hostile exploitation of biotechnology." (http://fas-www.harvard.edu/~hsp/cbwcrim.html). Current Status:The convention is presently in draft form. For details on its current status please see http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Units/spru/hsp/CRIMpreambleFeb04.htm. Precursors:These include the 1925 Geneva Protocol, the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention, the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention as well as other conventions that provide international criminalisation of certain activities such as Aircraft Hijacking (1970) and the theft of nuclear materials (1980). Criminalisation
of CBW Related Summaries on the Genomics Gateway Site:Biological Weapons Convention Page last updated 10th January 2005. |