Francine M. Guesnier,
excerpted Francine M. Guesnier, World Trade Center
Attacks: Fears of Biological Warfare Stand in the Wake, 2001 Colorado
Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy 181-190, 189
(2001) (70 Footnotes Omitted)
While the resolutions passed by the Council dealt with the threat of
terrorism generally, the WHO also suggests implementing plans in each
nation that respond directly to bioterrorist attacks. In its report, the
WHO makes several practical recommendations on how create such plans:
Public health authorities and other parts of government should create
contingency plans in the event of a deliberate release of biological
agents against civilians;
Standard risk-management principles should be adopted, beginning with
an assessment of the relative priority deliberate releases should be
accorded in comparison with other public health dangers;
Public health infrastructure in nations should be strengthened;
Channels for international assistance, such as the WHO, should be
identified;
States should actively participate in multilateral regimes such as
the BWC where international assistance and support is available to all
countries which are Member States;
All states should fully implement the BWC and promote in education
and professional training the ethical principles that underlie the
Convention, and support measures that would build upon their
implementation.
The topic of bioterrorism is still evolving within the context of
international law. However, implementation of the suggestions made by
the WHO can be a practical first step towards the creation of
international policy on the prevention of bioterrorism. Furthermore, by
incorporating the recommendations of the WHO into formal policy, states
can be better prepared in the event a bioterrorist attack should occur.
