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Assemblée parlementaire de l'OTAN
HomeDOCUMENTSPolicy Recommendations2002Resolution 321 on Terrorism with Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Weapons
Resolution 321 on Terrorism with Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Weapons
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The Assembly, 1. Persuaded that the events of September 11 have confirmed the existence of a kind of terrorism driven by religious motivations or other ideological objectives, which strives to inflict mass casualties on their enemies; 2. Recognising that these terrorist groups have a variety of financing, information resources, weapons and illicit material at their disposal; 3. Extremely concerned that terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda are actively engaged in efforts to acquire chemical, biological, and radiological weapons for use in terrorist attacks; 4. Conscious that the anthrax attacks in the United States in 2001 signalled that we have entered a new, dangerous era in biological weapons terrorism; 5. Convinced that fast advances in science and technology - notably in biotechnology - as well as their rapid diffusion in a globally networked world, are creating new vulnerabilities; 6. Concerned that terrorists, taking advantage of the poor security conditions at some sites, might illegally acquire chemical and biological agents, nuclear material or other weapons technologies stemming from programmes of the former Soviet Union; 7. Persuaded that effective measures to deter and defend against terrorism using chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons, as well as cyberattacks, should be accomplished through a co-ordinated, multilateral effort to the extent practicable; 8. Convinced that to maximise effectiveness in reducing the scope of the threat, the international response firstly requires an integrated transatlantic approach, particularly in the areas of law enforcement, intelligence sharing, norm building, defence/preparedness, lessons learned analysis, research and development; 9. URGES member governments and parliaments of the North Atlantic Alliance: a. to make all non-military attempts at resolving, moderating and containing conflicts that would reduce the danger of anyone wanting to use chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons; b. to advance a global legal and moral proscription on the possession and use of chemical, biological and radiological weapons; and eventually establish an international agreement to make the possession and use of chemical, biological and radiological weapons a crime against humanity; c. to reinforce the system of nuclear safeguards established by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and to continue work on ratification by all countries of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty; d. to encourage the governments of Russia and the United States to work co-operatively to assure the security of their arsenals of tactical nuclear weapons; refrain from expanding their existing arsenals, work towards an agreement regarding future reductions of such weapons; and work together to discourage or prevent the acquisition of such weapons by other nations; e. to widen the membership of the Biological Weapons Convention and strengthen its obligations, possibly including mechanisms for compliance and verification; f. to include in the work of the NATO-Russia Council the question of the former Soviet Union's biological weapons programme, with a view to dismantling completely any remaining facilities and preventing them from falling into the hands of terrorist groups or countries; g. to strengthen the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons by maintaining the principle of independent, transparent and sound management, and increasing emphasis on verification of non-compliance, which should include the use of challenge inspections; h. to control the transfer of classified information that could be used for chemical and biological weapons and to restrict access to genetic information on dangerous pathogens while remaining sensitive to legitimate scientific, medical, or other research that could potentially be used on weapons of mass destruction; i. to take concerted national actions to tighten bio-security regulations and consistently increase physical protection of highly lethal biological agents; j. to reinforce all international (multilateral and bilateral) initiatives to assist Russia to destroy, dismantle and secure nuclear weapons in accordance with arms control agreements ratified with the United States; and to assist partner countries to secure nuclear material and facilities stemming from programmes of the former Soviet Union; k. to amend the 1980 Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and expand it to cover civil nuclear material in domestic use, storage and transport and nuclear facilities; l. to intensify international police co-operation to properly address the threat of illegal nuclear trafficking; m. to be prepared to take, within the boundaries of international law, police operations or multilateral military actions against preparations for all varieties of mass casualty terrorist acts; n. to create a continuously updated database of terrorist groups and incidents involving chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons; o. to enhance the capabilities of the World Health Organisation to monitor global infectious disease trends and unusual outbreaks; p. to enhance the Alliance’s defences against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks, including better training, improved protective equipment, and the development and procurement of mobile air sensors for early warning; q. to device nationally integrated responses to terrorist attacks, which include public information strategies and the preparation and training of first responders and medical staff in recognising and responding to unfamiliar agents and adapting to new medical conditions; r. to develop arrangements for swift and effective international assistance to complement and support national defensive and treatment capacities. ______________ |
