BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION MEMBERS TO MEET IN GENEVA FROM 6 TO 10 DECEMBER

The 2010 Meeting of States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) will be held at the United Nations Office at Geneva from 6 to 10 December 2010. Chaired by Ambassador Pedro Oyarce of Chile, the meeting will develop and consolidate the work of the Meeting of Experts (Geneva, 23-27 August 2010) in order to promote common understanding and effective action on:

"Provision of assistance and coordination with relevant organizations upon request by any State Party in the case of alleged use of biological or toxin weapons, including improving national capabilities for disease surveillance, detection and diagnosis and public health systems."

Emphasizing the significance of this topic in light of the growing interconnections between global health and security issues, the Chairman said that the Meeting of States Parties would be "an important opportunity to further develop the main themes that emerged from the Meeting of Experts: the crucial importance of a coordinated and cross-sectoral response to an alleged use of biological weapons, and the need to build national capacities in order to provide such a response". The Chairman added that improving national capabilities to respond to alleged use of biological weapons not only directly supported the security objectives of the Convention, but also promoted the development of the peaceful applications of biological science and technology. "Combining security and development objectives in this way is the key to making further progress in multilateral disarmament," he said.

The Meeting of States Parties is expected to further discuss other proposals considered at the Meeting of Experts, including: the need to foster assistance to States Parties by organizing training courses, simulation exercises, and joint partnerships; the importance of encouraging cross-sectoral cooperation, notably between law enforcement and public health agencies; the necessity to assist States Parties in the national implementation of the BWC; and the enhancement of coordination at the international level.

Noting that the Meeting of Experts had heard a range of perspectives from developed and developing countries, from international and regional organizations, and from health, agricultural and security experts, the Chairman said, "our task now is to distil the essence of this information, to identify common themes and to draw out the key elements. Only by rigorously analyzing, digesting and processing this information will we be able take genuinely effective and coordinated action to provide assistance and to build national capabilities, and to answer the fundamental question: 'if a biological weapon were to be used tomorrow, how would we, the States Parties, collectively and individually respond?'".

In addition to the States Parties, a variety of international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will take part in the Meeting, as well as a range of non-governmental organizations and academic experts.

The Meeting of States Parties is part of a four-year programme mandated by the 2006 Sixth Review Conference of the BWC aimed at strengthening the implementation of the Convention and improving its effectiveness as a practical barrier against the development or use of biological weapons. The BWC prohibits the development, production and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons. More formally referred to as the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction, the treaty opened for signature in 1972 and entered into force in 1975. It currently has 163 States Parties, with a further 13 States having signed but not yet ratified.


For further information, please contact:

Mr. Richard Lennane
Head, BWC Implementation Support Unit
Tel: +41 (0)22 917 22 30
Fax: +41 (0)22 917 04 83
E-mail: rlennane@unog.ch
URL : www.unog.ch/bwc


For use of the information media; not an official record

DC10/045E