Professor of International Law, Monica Chinchilla, participated in the annual meeting of the European Union Consortium on Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. It was a consultative meeting to discuss the latest advances and challenges of the forums for the control of strategic exports of nuclear, chemical and biological materials. 

The consortium is a grouping of 60 research centers, European universities and think tanks that has the goal to promote security-related dialogue and discussion on measures to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in various expert forums. 

Professor Chinchilla was part of the 'Australia Forum' where some guidelines for the control of the export of materials related to this subject of weapons were determined. The group was responsible for establishing recommendations and good practices for States to implement effective export control guidelines for dual-use chemical biological materials, i.e., civilian and military: for example, chlorine, a substance that has a domestic use but can also be used to manufacture weapons.

Some conclusions

Among the main conclusions of the forum, Chinchilla highlights: "The technological development has undoubted benefits for society. However, the malicious use of artificial intelligence or synthetic biology can lead to the manufacture of weapons components or the possible intentional spread of diseases". The professor adds a second conclusion of the forum that these informal forums for the control of strategic dual-use exports (civilian and military) "show a great capacity to adapt to current threats. They are, therefore, complementary to the international legal regime of nuclear, biological and nuclear non-proliferation Chemistry ". 

The members of the forum in which Monica Chinchilla participated also determined that the harmonization of controls, their correct application, as well as the voluntary exchange of information between States "are pending issues to be strengthened to guarantee security in the export of strategic materials". In addition to the need for greater cooperation between informal forums and the active participation of the industrial sector and academic community for the effective control of dual-use biological and chemical materials, "such as monkeypox virus or chlorine", explains the professor.