Policy Papers - October 13, 2009
Biosecurity: IPI Blue Paper no. 6
This publication is part of the Blue Paper Series [read more about this publication series]
Pim Valdre, Lead Rapporteur
Unprecedented progress in biotechnology holds the prospect of historic improvements in the welfare of humankind.
Used responsibly, biotechnology can help address food insecurity, improve human health, provide solutions for environmental degradation, and help countries leapfrog in technological development. Used carelessly, or misused deliberately, biotechnology could inflict considerable human suffering — from the disastrous effects of bioweapons, to the accidental and deliberate spread of disease by state and nonstate actors. States, international organizations, industry, and the scientific community have so far failed to address effectively the challenges emerging from rapid biotechnological development. At the international level, there is no robust regulatory framework to prevent or mitigate the inherent risks, while expanding the benefits, of the biotechnological revolution.
Recent years have seen exponential growth in applied scientific knowledge in the field of biotechnology. The emergence of a biotechnological revolution has been widely recognized by governments, industry, and the scientific community as generating prospects for rapid advances on a number of fronts, such as improving human health, addressing food insecurity, and alleviating environmental degradation. As such, this Blue Paper lays out recommendations on the need to (1) foster a paradigm shift; (2) create a global forum; (3) reframe the concept of verification; (4) institutionalize incentives for transparency; (5) improve multilateral coordination; and (6) equip the UN to understand biological risk.
The Global Observatory
New Book by “Ground Zero” Imam: Moderation in the Face of Extremism
While promoting interfaith understanding, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf was attacked by extremists who used the issue to fan the flames of Islamophobia.
Key Global Events to Watch in May
A list of key upcoming meetings and events with implications for global affairs.
The Global Observatory is a new website by IPI, providing timely analysis on peace and security issues, interviews with leading policymakers, interactive maps, and more.
Contact Us
Adam Lupel | Publications
E-mail
Recent Events
May 10, 2012
Arbour: What the Rule of Law Means
“In my understanding of the rule of law, fundamentally, what the rule of law means is that it embraces the principle of equality before the law,” Louise Arbour, president of the International Crisis Group (ICG), told an IPI audience on May 10, 2012. Ms. Arbour outlined that this means that no one is above the law and everyone has both equal protection and equal benefit of the law. 
May 03, 2012
Shachtman: Cyber Threats Akin to South Bronx, Not Pearl Harbor
“There’s not a danger of a cyber Pearl Harbor… it’s more like the South Bronx circa 1999, where there’s a danger that it becomes such a tough neighborhood that no one wants to set up shop there and people move out,” Noah Shachtman, editor of the Danger Room blog at Wired magazine and non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, told an IPI audience at a panel on cyber security on May 3, 2011.
April 27, 2012
Preventing Conflicts in Africa: The Role of Early Warning and Response Systems
An April 27th roundtable discussion at IPI titled “Preventing Conflicts in Africa: The Role of Early Warning and Response Systems” examined the progress, prospects and challenges of regional and international early warning and response mechanisms to monitor, anticipate, and mitigate potential conflict situations in Africa.