STATES PARTIES TO BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION TO DISCUSS SCIENTIFIC CODES OF CONDUCT FROM 5 TO 9 DECEMBER 2005 IN GENEVA

States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) will meet in Geneva from 5 to 9 December 2005 to discuss and promote common understanding and effective action on the content, promulgation, and adoption of codes of conduct for scientists. The meeting is the last in 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, 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 Meeting of States Parties to take place in December is the culmination of a three-year programme mandated in 2002 when the Fifth Review Conference of the BWC decided that States Parties would meet twice yearly until 2006 to “to discuss, and promote common understanding and effective action on” specific topics related to better implementation of the Convention. This final meeting, to be chaired by Ambassador John Freeman of the United Kingdom, will develop the work begun at the Meeting of Experts, held from 13 to 24 June this year, on the content, promulgation, and adoption of codes of conduct for scientists. The June meeting saw national academies of science, industry organizations, professional societies, and academia from around the world contribute their expertise to efforts to prevent the malign use of their disciplines.

States Parties are expected to discuss ways in which the development and implementation of codes of conduct for scientists can help prevent the use of science, particularly the life sciences and biotechnology, in ways that might lead to contravention of the BWC. The Meeting will likely address how raising awareness and informing scientists on the BWC’s prohibitions can strengthen barriers against the development and proliferation of pathogenic micro-organisms and toxins, and related materials and technology, for hostile use.

This year’s meetings follow the successful conclusion of similar sessions held in 2003 and 2004, which saw States Parties assemble to discuss:

· practical 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; and
· measures to enhance international capabilities for responding to, investigating and mitigating the effects of cases of alleged use of biological or toxin weapons or suspicious outbreaks of disease.

States Parties to the BWC are due to meet again in 2006 for the Sixth Review Conference. The Review Conference will:

· Consider any further action derived from the three annual meetings;
· Take into account any relevant scientific and technological developments; and
· Review operation of the Convention, with a view to assuring that the provisions of the Convention are being properly and effectively implemented.

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 Meeting of States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention
tel: +41 (0)22 917 2230 or +41 (0)22 917 7144
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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