Successfully combating the bioterrorist menace is a difficult, two-fold task. The first focus is prevention of such acts by means of intelligence work and international conventions and the second is preparation in the unhappy event of such attacks taking place.

Bioterrorism issues are addressed by a variety of organizations: public health institutes of various countries, law enforcement agencies, special governmental departments and commissions, various international organizations and non-profit agencies. In fact, the INTERPOL programme is funded by an American non-profit organization, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Legislation and conventions

The international community long ago recognized the need to put into place appropriate legislation and conventions governing the use and possession of biological agents (which can be turned into biological weapons).

The most significant of these documents is the Biological Weapons Convention signed in 1972 (entered into force in 1975) which calls upon state parties to:
"never in any circumstances to develop, produce, stockpile or otherwise acquire or retain:

1. microbial or other biological agents, or toxins whatever their origin or method of production, of types and in quantities that have no justification for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes;
2. weapons, equipment or means of delivery designed to use such agents or toxins for hostile purposes or in armed conflict."

Furthermore, the United Nations addresses the question: “In resolution 1540 (2004) the Security Council decided that all States shall refrain from providing any form of support to non-state actors that attempt to develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport, transfer or use nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their means of delivery, and requires all States to adopt and enforce appropriate effective laws to this effect. The resolution also requires states to establish various types of domestic controls to prevent the proliferation of such weapons.” The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs “provides substantive support to the 1540 Committee and its experts.”

The most recent UN Counterterrorism Strategy (dated 2006) clearly indicated the rising danger posed by bioterrorism. One of the focuses of the strategy is “addressing the threat of bioterrorism by establishing a single comprehensive database on biological incidents, focusing on improving States' public health systems, and acknowledging the need to bring together major stakeholders to ensure that biotechnology's advances are not used for terrorist or other criminal purposes but for the public good.”

INTERPOL’s efforts were explicitly mentioned in this strategy in reference to the biocrimes database under construction which is to be complementary to the UN’s bioincidents database. INTERPOL also plays a substantial role is facilitating the detection of illicit traffic in “biological weapons and materials”
as well as “strengthen[ing] coordination and cooperation among States in combating crimes that might be connected with terrorism, including […] money laundering and smuggling of nuclear, chemical, biological, radiological and other potentially deadly materials.”

Other institutions have also recognized the imminent danger of bioterrorist attacks and have updated their action plans accordingly. Worth mentioning are the EU CBRN action plan and World At Risk document, a report prepared by a Special Commission of the United States Congress.  

Co-ordinated preparation

It is clear that if and when a bioterrorism incident occurs it will not be limited to any national boundaries; so building bridges and relationships between all different agencies concerned is important. Seamless communication needs to be established amongst countries’ national health and police institutions and international organizations such as the WHO and INTERPOL in order to be prepared when disaster strikes.

INTERPOL's partners

INTERPOL works closely with all partners mentioned below. For its publications and for the training sessions, the Bioterrorism Prevention Programme draws frequently on the knowledge and support of experts from a variety of organizations:

On the health and scientific research front:

• World Health Organization
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
• European Centre for Disease Control
• United States Sandia National Laboratories

International organizations:

• EUROPOL
• United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs,
• European Commission  - Directorate General for Health and Consumer Affairs and Directorate General for Justice, Freedom and Security
• United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute

Non-profit:

• Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, USA
• Robert Koch Institute, Germany

and with national law enforcement agencies.

Further resources are available on the INTERPOL Bioterrorism Prevention Resource Centre.