Журнал биотерроризма и биозащиты

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On the Front Line of Biodefense: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Support to International Biological Risk Management Regimes

Dana Perkins and Kathleen Danskin

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is supporting the U.S. Department of State in its public diplomacy demarches related to the Biological Weapons Convention and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540. The tenets of these major international instruments are implemented through a statutory, regulatory, and policy framework on biological risk management; an effective oversight of biodefense research and development programs; and international partnerships and collaborations toward countering biological threats, whether natural, accidental, or deliberate in nature. These activities illustrate the increasing importance of health to the U.S. national security and foreign policy. Raising the awareness of public health and science communities about the obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 is a critical element in their implementation and in preventing the misuse of scientific and technological advances.