BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION MEETING TO PREPARE FOR 2006 COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW

States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) are meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, from 26 to 28 April 2006 at the Preparatory Committee for the Sixth Review Conference of the BWC. The meeting is the first time States Parties will have met since the successful conclusion in December 2005 of a three-year process designed to enhance the implementation of this important international instrument. According to the 171 States that have signed 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 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 Sixth Review Conference, under its mandate from States Parties at the last review of the BWC in 2002, will make the procedural arrangements necessary for a successful outcome of the Sixth Review Conference. Ambassador Masood Khan of Pakistan 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 Sixth Review Conference of the BWC, to take place in late November, will be the first opportunity for States Parties to examine the operation of the Convention since the Fifth Review Conference concluded in 2002. 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 2006 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 2003-2005 intersessional meetings and decide on any further action; and
· Decide on any future action necessary to strengthen the implementation of the BWC.

The 2003-2005 intersessional process saw States Parties assemble to discuss:

· ways of strengthening national measures against biological weapons through national legislation and biosecurity measures;
· measures to strengthen and broaden national and international institutional efforts and existing mechanisms for the surveillance, detection, diagnosis and combating of infectious diseases affecting humans, animals, and plants;
· measures to enhance international capabilities for responding to and investigating and mitigating the effects of cases of alleged use of biological or toxin weapons or suspicious outbreaks of disease; and
· the content, adoption and promulgation of codes of conduct for scientists.

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 155 States Parties, with a further 16 having signed but not yet ratified.

For further information, please contact:

Richard Lennane
Secretary of the Preparatory Committee for the Sixth
Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention
tel: +41 (0)22 917 2230 or +41 (0)22 917 7143
fax: +41 (0)22 917 0034
e-mail: rlennane@unog.ch

For use of the information media; not an official record

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