Disarmament and arms control efforts related to biological weapons

This study examines arms control and disarmament efforts concerningbiological weapons. The impact of these efforts on international policy isstudied and the present situation of the efforts discussed.The first section of this study, under the title Weapons of MassDestruction, examines weapons of mass destruction in general and thedanger these weapons pose for world security. Nuclear, chemical andbiological weapons are reviewed individually, and explanations are presentedas to why the danger of biological weapons has increased since the end ofthe Cold War.The second section, entitled Biological Weapons and Their Impact onInternational Policy, investigates the historical impact of these weapons onnational and international policies. This section examines the biologicalarmament efforts of Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, theSoviet Union, Japan, and Iraq, as well as the impact of these efforts on theformation of international policy. In addition, the biological weapons policy ofthe Aum Shinrikyo cult is presented as an example of terrorist organizations?attempts to obtain biological weapons.The last section, entitled Disarmament and Arms Control EffortsConcerning Biological Weapons, examines the primary internationaldocuments on this subject: the 1899 and 1907 The Hague Conventions, theGeneva Convention of 1925, and the Biological Weapons Convention of1972. Additionally, the BWC review conferences and protocols, which aredrawn up in order to ensure the effectiveness of BWC, are presented.Finally, the study discusses the failure of these efforts to decrease oreliminate the danger of biological weapons.