Workshop on International Response to Chemical and Biological Terrorist Attacks

While the risk of use of chemical or biological agents by terrorist groups is considered to be low, the evolving terrorist threat of its unpredictability has prompted the UN along with other international organizations to look at jointly developing a preparedness and response plan in case of a large-scale emergency. To that end, representatives from the United Nations and partner organizations gathered in The Hague at the headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to brainstorm on how to coordinate a response to a terrorist event involving the use of chemical or biological weapons.

The workshop on ‘Enhancing Inter-Operability and Coordinated Communication in the Event of a Chemical or Biological Attack,’ helped launch a project of the CTITF Working Group on Preventing and Responding to WMD Attacks. The project is comprised of two pillars aimed at promoting effective inter-agency interoperability during such emergencies, both in terms of operations and in terms of communication with the public.

At the workshop, there was common ground in noting that while States ultimately carry the primary responsibility to protect their citizens in such an event, the international community would have a major role to play in assisting States to respond to the crisis. OPCW Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü noted that the terrorism landscape looked vastly different today than a decade ago, with methods even more extreme and violent. “Now more than ever cooperation is critical in countering the global threat,” he said. “The risk of terrorist attacks using chemicals and biological agents raises the stakes and potential of causing enormous public harm. All must make efforts to prevent such attacks and to ensure a response is well-coordinated. Although each has their own strengths, expertise, mandates, and face unique challenges, they can accomplish so much more working together than apart.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) presented lessons learned from the Chernobyl accident, which emphasized the need for an effective inter-agency emergency response and preparedness plan. In terms of communication, experience has shown that timely, accurate, consistent messaging was crucial to ensure that the general public is properly informed about the situation.