Prof to Discuss Weapons Proliferation at U.N.

Dr. Marie Chevrier will speak at United Nations headquarters in New York on Thursday as part of a comprehensive review of a resolution to halt the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

Named for the resolution passed in 2004, the event is titled “Resolution 1540: At a Crossroads.” It is being co-sponsored by the the U.N. Office for Disarmament and the Stanley Foundation.

“Resolution 1540 imposes binding obligations on all States to establish domestic controls to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, and their means of delivery, including by establishing appropriate controls over related materials,” according to the resolution committee. “It also encourages enhanced international cooperation on such efforts, in accord with and promoting universal adherence to existing international non proliferation treaties.”

Dr. Chevrier specializes in biological weapons disarmament negotiations and has been invited to speak on behalf of the Bioweapons Prevention Project, of which she is chair of the Board of Directors.

At UT Dallas, she is the director of the Master of Public Policy program in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences. She is also the faculty sponsor of the Model United Nations team.

The panel she is assigned to will be discussing “Civil Society Contributions to 1540 Implementation.” Her paper is titled, “The Need for a Civil Society Role in Monitoring and Raising Awareness of the Norms Against the Weaponization of Disease.”

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