20.10.2022

Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction Newsletter Issue No. 9, October 2022

Now in its third decade of delivering cooperative threat reduction assistance, the G7-led Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction (GP) has never wavered from its mission to prevent terrorists, or those that harbour them, from acquiring or developing chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons and related materials, equipment, and technology. For twenty years, whenever there have been threats posed by weapons of mass destruction (WMD) – be it nuclear proliferation in Iran or North Korea, chemical weapons use in Syria or biological proliferation events around the world – the 31 member Global Partnership has been there.

Regrettably, the Global Partnership’s work is far from done. New and ever more complex WMD threats continue to emerge, demanding a GP response. Russia has threatened the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, and continues to pursue an aggressive disinformation campaign targeting biological threat reduction measures conducted by members of the Global Partnership. The spectre of further chemical weapons (CW) use continues to hang over all nations, as past use of CW in Syria and by Russia remains unresolved. And a seemingly endless series of outbreaks of high consequence infectious diseases and challenges posed by dual-use research of concern (DURC) heighten the risk of the deliberate use of disease as a weapon. In the face of such serious threats, the Global Partnership remains undaunted and determined to continue to deliver impactful WMD threat reduction programming that will contribute to a safer and more secure world.

Please read the article here