By collecting and categorizing our activity on Twitter, the Twitter Corner is intended to provide updates and relevant information on CBRN weapons.
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The Executive Council, the governing body of the #OPCW, convenes next week (7-10 July) to promote effective implementation of the #ChemicalWeaponsConvention
Executive Council
The governing body of the OPCW
ow.ly
Happy 18th anniversary 🥳 to the 🌎Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction. DYK the Global Partnership has helped to destroy >41K tonnes of chemical weapons?
For details on the IIT and attribution of Syrian use of CW, check out my article in @TheNonproReview:
Chemical-weapon use in Syria: atrocities, attribution, and accountability
(2019). Chemical-weapon use in Syria: atrocities, attribution, and accountability. The Nonproliferation Review: Vol. 26, Special Section: The Shifting...
www.tandfonline.com
Finally, the section on Syria is basically the same as 2019 except for mention of confirmed use of chlorine by Syria in Kabana on May 19, 2019. Also mentions developments re: the @OPCW Identification and Investigation Team (IIT) which was stood up in 2019 to conduct attribution.
For deets on that historic change, check out these articles by @s_costanzi and me:
in @TheNonproReview
https://t.co/tC4gg1m4ic in @ArmsControlNow
Controlling Novichoks after Salisbury: revising the Chemical Weapons Convention schedules
(2019). Controlling Novichoks after Salisbury: revising the Chemical Weapons Convention schedules. The Nonproliferation Review: Vol. 26, Special Secti...
www.tandfonline.com
The Iran and Russia sections of the report are basically identical to the 2019 report. The only new material relates to action by @OPCW to include novichok agents on Schedule 1 of the CWC.
While this annual compliance report includes Burma for the first time, @StateAVC had already released a certification of non-compliance for Burma in November 2019:
There is nothing new in the 2020 report compared to the 2019 certification.
Finding of Non-Compliance With the Chemical Weapons Convention: Burma - United States Department of State
FINDING Based on available information, the United States cannot certify that Burma has met its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC...
www.state.gov
The full version of the 2020 Compliance Report is now available:
Submission to Congress of the “Report on Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments” (Compliance Report) - United States Department of State
The State Department has submitted to Congress the unclassified 2020 Report on Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and D...
www.state.gov
Very happy to see the article on Corona and Bioterrism published at @WarOnTheRocks authored by me and my friend @PeterRNeumann. We argue that the challenges for sophisticated bioterrorist remain high unless there is help from a state.
Corona and Bioterrorism: How Serious Is the Threat? - War on the Rocks
The novel coronavirus pandemic has put the threat of bioterrorism back in the spotlight. White supremacist chat rooms are teeming with talk about
warontherocks.com
@RichardCupitt Check out on our website a structurally annotated table that lists the Novichok precursors recently added to the Australia Group: #nerve agents #chemical weapons @RichardCupitt @gregkoblentz
New Entries Added to Australia Group Chemical Weapons Precursors List
On February 28, 2020, 22 Novichok precursors were added to the Australia Group (AG) Chemical Weapons Precursors list, to complement the recent additio...
costanziresearch.com
Happy to announce that my assessment of how drones, synthetic biology, 3D printing, the Dark Web, and malware can be misused by terrorist groups has been published by @twq
Read it to find out what seven deadly traits these emerging technologies share.
https://t.co/pTfnxudcr8
How did the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty come about and why’s it important? Read Rebecca Johnson’s classic UNIDIR study ‘Unfinished Business: the Negotiation of the CTBT and the End of Nuclear Testing’ @Acronymist @ctbto
@CanadaOPCW @OPCW The Australia Group list of #Chemical weapons precursors has been updated as well, to add #novichok precursors. The structures of the recently added chemicals can be seen here:
New Entries Added to Australia Group Chemical Weapons Precursors List
On February 28, 2020, 22 Novichok precursors were added to the Australia Group (AG) Chemical Weapons Precursors list, to complement the recent additio...
costanziresearch.com
@CanadaOPCW @OPCW Great achievement. Those who are interested in seeing the structures of these #chemical warfare agents, including the #novichok agent used in Salisbury, can do so here:
A historical event: chemicals added to CWC Schedule 1
On November 27, 2019, the 24th Conference of State Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), convened in the Hague, approved two proposals for...
costanziresearch.com
The Costanzi Research Group, horrified, stands with the Black community. #BlackLiveMattters
I am usually a measured person, but today, I am sad, frustrated, and angry. The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery lay bare the deep wounds of racism that have plagued our country for too long.
Welcome to the new #OPCW Executive Council members, and our new EC Chair Ambassador Gómez @EESAenPaisesBaj we are looking forward to working with you!
🇦🇺🇦🇹🇧🇪🇸🇻🇱🇹🇳🇴🇵🇭🇵🇱🇪🇸🇦🇪
#NoImpunity
@blumscientific @gregkoblentz @OPCW @UK_OPCW @CanadaOPCW @NLatOPCW @OPCW_ST Chemical precursor lists cannot be comprehensive. It is always possible to go back a step and work with upstream precursors. That being said, the new Australia Group chemicals are indeed the most obvious direct Novichok precursors and should be subject to strict monitoring.
Take a look at the Costanzi Research website to see the relations between the new Australia Group and the new CWC entries. #novichoks #chemical weapons
Australia Group Chemicals
The Australia Group (AG) is an informal coalition of likeminded states committed to preventing the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons. T...
costanziresearch.com
Last February, the Australia Group chemical weapons precursors list has been amended to include 22 Novichok precursors. This complements the recent addition of Novichok agents to Schedule 1 of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which will enter into force in June.