J. P. Perry Robinson

Neutron bomb and conventional weapons of mass destruction

The pros and cons of developing and producing neutron bombs are reviewed in the historical context of the lethality and destructive power of both conventional and nuclear weapons. Response from the arms-control community has generally been favorable toward the neutron bomb on the grounds that it would be an increased deterrent and would reduce reliance on tactical nuclear weapons. The validity of this position is questioned and it is pointed out that countries are now buying both new tactical nuclear and new conventional weapons as the destructive gap between the two types of weapons gets smaller. A qualitative form of arms limitation could be more effective than the present step-by-step disarmament strategy. Some groundwork has been done on an international update of the laws of war as a result of public pressure and antipathy toward anti-personnel weapons. The public response points up the need to expand our traditional forms of negotiating to incorporate the concepts of both security politics and humanitarian precepts.

Maximizing Security Benefits from Technical Cooperation In Microbiology and Biotechnology: Infrastructure, Regulations and Procedures

The objective of the negotiations of the Ad Hoc Group is to strengthen the effectiveness and improve the implementation of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC)1 through a legally binding instrument. The Convention opened for signature in 1972 and entered into force in 1975 and has been in force for over 25 years. It is a modest document of a few pages in marked contrast to the much more recent Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)2, which opened for signature in 1993 and entered into force in 1997, comprising over 100 pages which elaborate the infrastructure and procedures to be followed in implementing the CWC as well as specifying in Article VII the measures to be adopted nationally by States Parties in order to implement their obligations under the Convention. The infrastructure, regulations and procedures are consequently fundamental to the effective implementation of the regime and to the achievement of the purposes of the regime.