Reinforcing Treaties The Bioweapons Convention and beyond Debate remains young about how the wave of recent advances in biotechnology - especially genetic engineering - relate to peace and disarmament. The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) came into force nearly a quarter century ago. Techniques mastered since then can be used to make biological weapons (BW) more virulent, easier to handle, and harder to fight. The adoption of a verification protocol to the BTWC would add teeth to international law; but the détente era global legal framework on biological warfare is stressed as never before. During the last decade, military researchers have altered the genes of lethal bacteria to design strains that can withstand antibiotic treatment and are undetectable by usual sensors. Civilian researchers have developed viral and fungal pathogens that kill cultivated crops and spread uncontrollably. Genetic alteration of plant traits like fertility may find a use in economic warfare. The Project has initiated a long-term research and awareness-building program to reinforce global consensus against BW. The Project will publish its results and develop policy options for governments to avoid hostile use of biotechnology, including linkages to other important instruments such as the Cartagena Protocol and standards-setting bodies.