Arms control & disarmament projects

Promoting effective verification of the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention
Researchers: Angela Woodward
Funders: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, UK Global Opportunities Fund (GOF)

Publications and online resources (general)

VERTIC Matters
A new strategy: strengthening the biological weapons regime through modular mechanisms Verification Matters number 6, October 2006

VERTIC Briefs
no. 4: ‘Biological weapons: minding the verification gap’
by Trevor Findlay (February 2004)

Verification Yearbook
2003
'Back to basics: verification and the Biological Weapons Convention'
by Jez Littlewood
2002
'Continued turbulence over BWC verification'
by Jenni Rissanen

Other
VERTIC Statement to the Sixth Review Conference for the 1972 Biological Weapons Conference
Michael Crowley, Executive Director, delivered VERTIC's statement to the Sixth Review Conference for the 1972 Biological Weapons Conference on Tuesday, 21 November in Geneva, Switzerland. Noting that VERTIC believes that States Parties should consolidate the constructive work of the intersessional process by agreeing practical measures and activities to strengthen implementation of the Convention, he outlined the modular mechanisms VERTIC has elaborated to aid states in their work. These mechanisms are intended to strengthen BWC compliance by assisting implementation at all levels-nationally, regionally and internationally. Each mechanism can stand alone and make an effective contribution to states parties' efforts to achieve biological disarmament. Together, they offer synergistic benefits and interconnections that would be of even greater benefit.
To read the VERTIC statement, click here.
To read the full VERTIC report discussing the mechanisms, click here.

BASIC, Harvard-Sussex Program and VERTIC ‘Briefing Book for the BWC Sixth Review Conference 2006’

VERTIC Statement to the Meeting of States Parties to the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), Geneva, Switzerland, 7 December 2004

VERTIC Statement to the Meeting of Experts to the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), Geneva, Switzerland, 23 July 2004.

Time to lay down the law: national legislation to enforce the BWC.
Final report launched at the Biological Weapons Convention Meeting of States Parties, held in Geneva from 10-14 November 2003.

Verification of alleged biological weapons use' 1 July 2002

VERTIC’s response to the April 2002 UK Green Paper on Strengthening the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention: Countering the Threat from Biological Weapons