Novichok nerve agents developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War emerged as a lethal tool due to their use in attempted assassinations recently. Two such attempts involving deadly Novichok nerve agents in Salisbury, UK (2018) and Omsk, Russia (2020) raised doubts about Russia’s existing tactical CW arsenal.

Despite the existence of several mechanisms and frameworks that regulate the use and production of CBWs, they continue to exist, and pose risk to environmental and human health. Their use in wars and conflicts in the past have inflicted severe damages on ecosystems, as evidenced by the cases of different wars. Yet these issues are seldom brought up in the narratives on chemical and biological warfare, except from a moral point of view.

Relations between India and Pakistan have remained hostile, since partition, owing to varied geopolitical reasons. They both compete against each other in conventional and nuclear arms. While the threat of CBW remains low in the region, it cannot be completely ruled out.

Russia’s high-profile opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s poisoning has led to intense speculation about not only the perpetrator but also its timing and motive. Widely conflicting diagnosis emerging from Russia, where Navalny was first treated, to Germany, where he was airlifted for further medical treatment, have further fanned this speculation. Unsurprisingly, the needle of suspicion has fallen on the Russian government.

Syria acquired the capability to produce chemical weapons in order to counter Israel’s chemical weapons program. It imported chemical weapon precursor and dual-use production equipment from other countries including Russia, China, India and North Korea. Bashar al Assad inherited a huge stockpile of chemical weapons with production, manufacturing, storage and research facilities scattered over Damascus, Homs, Hama, Latakia and Aleppo.

Chemical attacks are not normal crimes as they have important consequences for national and international security, but they are also crimes that law enforcement authorities are obliged to investigate and, if possible, resolve through national criminal procedures. Salisbury case highlights the complexity of an investigation. Although, there are now sufficient cases of attacks with chemical agents to justify a systematic response, however, there still remains a doubt whether that law enforcement authorities are prepared for criminal cases with national and international security implications.

Bio-organisms are a serious threat to mankind today. With the increasing resistance to antibiotics and few discoveries in new antibiotics, the healthcare risks of individuals and societies have increased manifold. Coupled to this, constant mutations in microbes need a different dimension to counter such bio-organisms. Alongside healthcare problems, deliberate use of bio-organisms as agents of terror is a threat that has no counter today. This paper presents ‘Whiff Bio-Spray,’ a breakthrough solution to neutralize these bio-organisms through the use of active plant extracts.

Myanmar has once again faced accusations of having a clandestine chemical weapons capability and non-compliance, despite the country’s efforts to fulfil its obligation under the Chemical Weapons Convention. Even though Myanmar has rejected the latest US allegations, the questions regarding its intact and existing buildings at Tonbo Site and the suspicions about a clandestine chemical weapons factory in Pauk Township will haunt the authorities in Myanmar to come clean before the International community.

Riot control agents, are often employed for law enforcement. They also are open to misuse. Despite the ongoing misuse of these chemicals by police and security forces, CWC States Parties have not publicly raised any such cases as matters of concern within the OPCW nor has any OPCW policymaking organ addressed the nature and scope of “law enforcement” under the CWC.