Nations meet to curb chemical, biological weapons
Action must be taken to prevent terrorists and rogue states from getting their hands on chemical and biological weapons, Australia’s foreign minister said today at the start of a meeting of 38 nations.
“The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is a real and immediate threat, the possibility of terrorists and irresponsible states obtaining and using weapons of mass destruction is taken very seriously by the Australian government,” he said.
“We must have the strength to confront this threat directly with concrete action, not mere talk of action.”
Downer told delegates at the meeting of the Australia Group that governments needed to do more to control the export of material that could be used by terrorists to build chemical or biological weapons.
“The international security environment has changed markedly over recent years and the global threat posed by chemical and biological weapons is in many respects more challenging today,” he said.
The minister said moves by members of the Australia Group to harmonise their export standards had “significantly restricted opportunities for would-be proliferators” to get chemical and biological weapon materials “at least through normal trade channels”.
Ahead of the meeting, Downer said delegates would focus on combating chemical and biological terrorism and a further tightening of controls on exports that could be used for such weapons.
“They can incite terror and cause mass casualties – as demonstrated by the sarin gas attacks in Tokyo in 1995 and the anthrax attacks in the US in late 2001,” he said.
The Australia Group was set up in 1985 and includes the US, Britain, Japan and France as well as the European Commission.
