BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION MEETING TO PREPARE FOR 2011 COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW

States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) will be meeting in Geneva, Switzerland from 13 to 15 April 2011 at the Preparatory Committee for the Seventh Review Conference of the BWC. The meeting is the first time States Parties will have met since the successful conclusion in December 2010 of a four-year process designed to enhance the implementation of this important international instrument. According to the 163 States Parties to this treaty, biological weapons are “repugnant to the conscience of mankind”.

The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction, as the BWC is formally known, effectively prohibits the development, production, acquisition, transfer, retention, stockpiling and use of biological and toxin weapons and is a key element in the international community’s efforts to address the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The Preparatory Committee of the Seventh Review Conference, under its mandate from States Parties at the last review of the BWC in 2006, will make the procedural arrangements necessary for a successful outcome of the Seventh Review Conference. Ambassador Paul van den Ijssel of the Netherlands will chair the Preparatory Committee and is expected to be nominated as President for the high-profile meeting later in the year. The Preparatory Committee is expected to set the agenda for the Review Conference as well as address relevant organizational and financial arrangements.

The Seventh Review Conference of the BWC, to take place from 5 to 22 December 2011, will be the first opportunity for States Parties to examine the operation of the Convention since the Sixth Review Conference concluded in 2006. The review conference process provides the opportunity for States Parties to reconfirm their commitment to the complete prohibition of biological weapons and to address any problems or shortcomings in the operation of the Convention. The 2011 Review Conference is expected to:


· Review the operation of the Convention, with a view to assuring that its provisions are being properly and effectively implemented;
· Take into account any relevant scientific and technological developments;
· Consider the work of the 2007 - 2010 intersessional meetings and decide on any further action; and
· Decide on any future action necessary to strengthen the implementation of the BWC.


The 2007 – 2010 intersessional process saw States Parties assemble to discuss:


· ways and means to enhance national implementation, including enforcement of national legislation, strengthening of national institutions and coordination among national law enforcement institutions;
· regional and sub-regional cooperation on implementation of the Convention;
· national, regional and international measures to improve biosafety and biosecurity, including laboratory safety and security of pathogens and toxins;
· oversight, education, awareness raising, and adoption and/or development of codes of conduct with the aim of preventing misuse in the context of advances in bio-science and bio-technology research with the potential of use for purposes prohibited by the convention;
· enhancement of international cooperation, assistance and exchange in biological sciences and technology for peaceful purposes, promoting capacity building in the fields of disease surveillance, detection, diagnosis, and containment of infectious diseases; and
· the provision of assistance and coordination with relevant organizations upon request by any State party in the case of alleged use of biological weapons, including improving national capabilities for disease surveillance, detection and diagnosis and public health systems.
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The Biological Weapons Convention, which opened for signature in 1972 and entered into force in 1975, is the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning an entire category of weapons. It currently has 163 States Parties, with a further 13 having signed but not yet ratified.


For further information, please contact:

Richard Lennane
Secretary of the Preparatory Committee for the
Seventh Review Conference of the
Biological Weapons Convention
tel: +41 (0)22 917 2230 or +41 (0)22 917 7143
fax: +41 (0)22 917 0483
e-mail: rlennane@unog.ch
web: http://www.unog.ch/bwc/meeting


For use of the information media; not an official record


DC11/027E