Preventing chemical weapons: arms control and disarmament as the sciences converge

673 Pages·2018·13.177 MB·English

by  Crowley, Michael, Dando, Malcolm, Shang, Lihao

Preventing Chemical Weapons
Arms Control and Disarmament as the Sciences Converge

Preventing Chemical Weapons
Arms Control and Disarmament as the
Sciences Converge
Edited by
Michael Crowley
University of Braford, UK
Email: [email protected]
Malcolm Dando
University of Braford, UK
Email: [email protected]
and
Lijun Shang
University of Braford, UK
Email: [email protected]
Print ISBN: 978-1-78262-649-7
PDF ISBN: 978-1-78801-009-2
EPUB ISBN: 978-1-78801-472-4
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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Foreword
The life and chemical sciences are in the midst of a period of rapid and revo-
lutionary transformation. The advances in science and technology, including
those that result from convergence at the intersection of chemistry and biology,
and progress in parallel disciplines and technologies, notably nanoscience
and nanotechnology, are expected to bring about a wide range of societal
benefits. In medicine, this could yield better diagnostic tools, prophylaxes
and treatments, with, for example, an increasing ability to tailor drugs to the
needs of individual patients; in agriculture, more environmentally hardy and
disease resilient crops are being developed and farmed; energy production
employing new bio-fuels and processes is being explored; and there are also
advances towards more efficient, safer, environmentally friendly and sustain-
able production of consumer and industrial materials specifically designed
to meet particular needs.
Inevitably, such transformational scientific and technological develop-
ments potentially have malign applications, and the dangers of such misuse
have potentially profound implications for arms control and disarmament.
Scientific advance could lead to the discovery or development of novel chem-
ical agents, a greater ability to deliver these chemical agents to specific targets
within the human body, and new or enhanced means of chemical agent dis-
persal over increasingly wider areas effecting greater numbers of people;
eventually, such developments may even lead to the capability, or perceived
capability, to conduct new forms of chemical warfare.
Such concerns are exacerbated by the unstable nature of the international
security environment at the present time, with continuing warfare in the
Middle East, threatened conflict in the Korean peninsula, the large-scale dis-
placement and migration of people across the globe, the growth of extremist
groups, and continuing terrorist attacks in many countries. This instability
is likely to continue for many years and could fuel the further use of diverse

Preventing Chemical Weapons: Arms Control and Disarmament as the Sciences Converge
Edited by Michael Crowley, Malcolm Dando and Lijun Shang
© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2018
Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, www.rsc.org
v
vi Foreword
toxic chemicals as improvised weapons, a desire by certain States to retain
and employ existing stockpiles of chemical weapons, as well as increased
interest in developing more advanced systems of chemical weapons.
Utilising a multi-disciplinary approach, and drawing upon an interna-
tional group of experts, this book analyses current and near-term predictions
of developments in relevant chemical and life sciences, and assesses the
risks of their potential misapplication in the development of chemical weap-
ons either through State programmes or by non-State actors such as armed
opposition groups, terrorist organisations or criminal networks. The book
analyses the current capabilities, limitations and failures of the existing rele-
vant international arms control and disarmament instruments—notably the
Chemical Weapons Convention—in preventing the development and use of
chemical weapons. Through the employment of an innovative Holistic Arms
Control methodology, the authors also look beyond the bounds of such trea-
ties, to explore the full range of international law, international agreements
and regulatory mechanisms potentially applicable to weapons employing
toxic chemical agents, in order to develop recommendations for more effec-
tive routes to combat their proliferation and misuse.
This book is a call to action for the international scientific and governmen-
tal communities, underlining the vital importance of their active protecting
and nurturing of the prohibition against poison and chemical weapons;
and of building effective and responsive measures to ensure that the rapid
advances in chemistry and the life sciences are safeguarded from malign use
and are instead employed for the benefit of us all.
Diana Anderson
University of Bradford
Contents
Section I: Introduction
Chapter 1 Introduction: Preventing the Re-emergence of
Chemical Weapons 3
Michael Crowley, Malcolm Dando and Lijun Shang
1.1 The Context 3
1.2 Concept for the Book 5
1.3 Holistic Arms Control 6
1.4 The Structure of the Book 7
References 9
Chapter 2 The Changing Nature of the Chemical and
Biological Weapons Threat 10
Paul Rogers
2.1 Introduction 10
2.2 Mass Casualty and Mass Effect Attacks 12
2.2.1 LTTE and the Bombing of the Colombo
War Trade Centre 12
2.2.2 The 1994 Attempted Attack on Paris 13
2.2.3 The Provisional IRA and the London
Bombings, 1992–97 13
2.2.4 Aum Shinrikyo 14
2.3 Relevant Elements of the Context of the War
of Terror 14
2.4 Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq 17
2.5 Implications for Future Security 18

Preventing Chemical Weapons: Arms Control and Disarmament as the Sciences Converge
Edited by Michael Crowley, Malcolm Dando and Lijun Shang
© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2018
Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, www.rsc.org
vii
viii Contents
2.6 Revolts from the Margins 19
2.7 Responses to the New Security Challenges 21
2.8 The Risk of CBW Development and Use in
the New Security Context 21
2.9 Conclusions 22
References 23
Section II: The Chemical and Biological
Weapons Prevention and Disarmament
Regime Today
Chapter 3 The Chemical Weapons Convention – Past Success,
Current Challenges 27
R. Trapp
3.1 Introduction 27
3.2 Key Concepts and Provisions of the Chemical
Weapons Convention 30
3.2.1 Elimination of Chemical Weapons
Programmes 30
3.2.2 Preventing the Re-emergence of
Chemical Weapons 31
3.2.3 Resilience to the Hostile Uses of
Toxic Chemicals 33
3.2.4 Chemicals for Peace 34
3.2.5 Managing Advances in Science and
Technology 35
3.3 CWC Implementation – Successes Stories
and Challenges 36
3.3.1 Overview 36
3.3.2 Elimination of Chemical Weapons
Stockpiles and Programmes 37
3.3.3 Preventing the Re-emergence of
Chemical Weapons 40
3.4 The Operation of the CWC and Science and
Technology 54
3.5 The Future – Staying Relevant and Implementing
Change 58
3.5.1 The Changing CWC/OPCW
Environment 58
3.5.2 Political and Cultural Challenges 60
3.5.3 Operational Capacity, Competence and
Knowledge 62
3.6 Convergence in Disarmament – Conclusions 62
References 64
Contents ix
Chapter 4 The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention 69
Jez Littlewood
4.1 Introduction 69
4.1.1 Overview 70
4.2 Normative and Legal Evolution Pre-BTWC 72
4.3 Use of Biological and Toxin Weapons in History 74
4.4 Offensive Programmes 76
4.5 Evolution of the BTWC 78
4.5.1 From Entry into Force to the End of
the Cold War 79
4.5.2 The Post-cold War Decade 83
4.5.3 Recovery, Revitalization, and
Recalcitrance After 2001 84
4.5.4 Evolution in Retrospect 87
4.6 How Scientific and Technological
Developments Have Affected the
BTWC 87
4.6.1 Responding to Scientific and
Technological Developments 90
4.7 Conclusion: the BTWC in Context 92
References 93
Chapter 5 United Nations Mechanisms to Combat the
Development, Acquisition and Use of Chemical
Weapons 101
Michael Crowley
5.1 Introduction: Role of the United Nations in
Maintaining International Peace and Security 101
5.2 Investigatory Mechanisms 103
5.2.1 UN Secretary-General’s Mechanism 103
5.2.2 Ad hoc UN Investigatory Mechanisms 108
5.3 UN Mechanisms to Address Confirmed
Chemical Weapons Development, Acquisition
or Use 113
5.3.1 Iraq: UN Special Commission (UNSCOM)
and UN Monitoring, Verification and
Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) 114
5.3.2 Syria: OPCW–UN Joint Mission 117
5.4 UN Embargoes to Halt the Development,
Acquisition or Use of Chemical Weapons 120
5.4.1 Range of Items Controlled 121
5.4.2 Monitoring and Facilitating
Implementation of Embargoes 122
5.4.3 Effectiveness of UN Arms Embargoes 123