Biological Weapons Convention Treaty

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The Biological Weapons Convention treaty also known as the Biological and Weapons Toxin Convention was established in 1972. This treaty was created in the efforts to stop the production of Biological weapons and the use of it in combat. As well as banning the use of its delivery systems and storage facilities. In 1972 over 158 countries came to an agreement and signed the Biological Weapons Convention treaty. Although the treaty was signed in 1972 it did not take effect until 1975. This treaty only affected the countries who actually signed it. A biological agent can be defined as a microorganism that causes disease in human, plants, and animals; it also could cause deterioration of material. Biological Agents can be broken down into two classes, pathogens and toxins. Out of the two classes pathogens is considered to be the most dangerous because it could be a bacteria or a virus that is capable of being transferred from one person to another. Toxins are poisons which can be just as deadly as pathogens when produced and released under the right weather conditions. Biological agents are quite different from chemical agents, although there are many differences; the main difference is the lethality and the onset of symptoms. Biological weapons are capable of producing mass casualties due to its high potency, considerable accessibility, easy delivery, and low visibility. They are also very inexpensive and very easy to produce; it can be easily disseminated among the population. In fact something as simple as a crop sprayer which is used on farms to produce crops could be use as a delivery method. Biological agents could be as small as a kilo gram of anthrax which is capable of killing thousands of people. This amoun... ... middle of paper ... ...In addition to that its members were not fully committed to the agreement. Many nations signed the treaty but yet continued their research and development of biological weapons. The current status of the Biological Weapons Convention treaty has been severely degraded. There have been multiple conferences held over the years with no resolution. The United Nations has failed to come up with protocols that all members can agree upon. Works Cited Croddy A. (2005). “Weapons of Mass Destruction. An Encyclopedia of Worldwide Policy, Technology and History, (Vol. 1, pp. 43-46. Santa Barbara: Eric A. Croddy. Danzig R. (1996). “Commentaries” Vol 278, No. 5. Retrieved from Dire J. (2013). “Biological Warfare Agents” Retrieved from

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