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Bioweapons protocol update

Nature Biotechnology volume 18, page 1125 (2000)Cite this article

To the editor

As one of the UK government officials involved in the Ad Hoc Group in Geneva negotiating a Protocol to strengthen the 1975 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), I welcome the support for this objective shown by Richard Sullivan and Sebastian Gorka in your August issue1. We have consulted widely with UK industry and academia over the past six years, including practical work on mock inspections and visits at industrial sites. The two authors of the article are clearly aligning themselves with the widespread consensus that some regime based on declarations and on-site measures must be in place as a matter of urgency. I certainly agree with these authors that industry and academia must be proactive, but I would like to clarify the provisions in the rolling text—the draft Protocol—currently under discussion at Geneva.

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References

  1. Sullivan, R. & Gorka, S. Nat. Biotechnol. 18, 806 (2000).

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  1. Arms Control and Disarmament Research Unit Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London, UK

    John R. Walker

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  1. John R. Walker
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Walker, J. Bioweapons protocol update. Nat Biotechnol 18, 1125 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/81029

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