BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION EXPERTS MEETING CONCLUDES

The Meeting of Experts from States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) was held in Geneva from 20 to 24 August 2007. The Meeting of Experts is the first 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 2007 Meeting of Experts, which was chaired by Ambassador Masood Khan of Pakistan, addressed two specific topics:

· Ways and means to enhance national implementation, including enforcement of national legislation, strengthening of national institutions and coordination among national law enforcement institutions; and
· Regional and subregional cooperation on implementation of the Convention.
Experts from a total of 90 States parties to the Convention participated in the meeting, giving detailed presentations and exchanging their views and experiences on national and regional measures taken, and approaches adopted, to address the threat posed by biological weapons. Speaking at the closing session today, the Chairman said that the Meeting of Experts had focused on national measures in a large number of States parties, across all regions:

“We have heard a wide range of perspectives, from States parties of different sizes, different situations, and varying systems of government and administration. We have had broad overviews of approaches to national implementation, and highly detailed technical expositions of particular aspects of enforcement, interagency coordination, regional cooperation, and export controls. As well as the contributions from States parties, we have had the benefit of highly relevant and useful input from Interpol and from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. And we also benefited from the helpful contributions of a number of non-governmental organizations.”

Ambassador Khan went on to say that the meeting had developed synergies both within and across delegations. “Experts will go back to their capitals and engage with their Governments with a broader perspective, new ideas, and greater confidence. This will help move the BWC higher on national agendas, and will give a renewed impetus to national implementation and regional cooperation activities in many States parties.”

The Chairman identified several common themes that had emerged from the large amount of material presented, including:

· Recognition that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution for national implementation: approaches should be tailored to the individual circumstances and needs of each State Party;
· The need to make use of the recently launched BWC Implementation Support Unit as a catalyst in better coordinating and managing activities; and
· The need to help States parties build capacity: in addition to guidance on enacting legislation and regulations, States parties need practical assistance to build their capacity to enforce and manage such measures.
During the meeting, a range of delegations, including the European Union, the United States, India and Pakistan, made offers to provide assistance to others in implementing the obligations of the Convention.

The results of the Meeting of Experts will form the basis for the work of the Meeting of States Parties (to be held from 10 to 14 December 2007), which will consider options for developing common understandings and effective action on the two topics.

Background

Discussions at the Meeting of Experts covered numerous elements which contribute to national and regional efforts to implement the provisions of the Convention, including:

a. The scope and diversity of relevant measures, such as: the role of primary legislation; the utility of supplementary regulations; prohibitions; penalties; exterritorial application; submission and exchange of data; licensing regimes; self governance; as well as biosafety and biosecurity;
b. Methods for managing national implementation, such as: the functions and responsibilities of national authorities; the advantages of standardized, pre-planned and rehearsed response plans; the development and promulgation of best practices; as well as awareness raising and outreach on the obligations of the Convention, relevant national legislation and regulations and biosafety and biosecurity provisions;
c. Mechanisms to enforce national implementation measures, such as: developing and promulgating best practices, education and training for law enforcement; the role played by Interpol in capacity-building; the benefits of developing national enforcement strategies; risk management procedures and practices; quarantine; the importance of networking and coordination between law enforcement, border control, intelligence and security services; as well as the provision of scientific and technological support for law enforcement;
d. International and regional cooperation and assistance, such as: the provision of assistance for States parties to implement the BWC; the need for long-term and ongoing assistance; building upon shared language, legal and cultural traditions as well as the state of development of biotechnology industries; improving public, animal and plant health to tackle natural, accidental and deliberate disease; undertaking joint-learning and mutually beneficial projects; building bridges, promoting and strengthening bilateral relationships; as well as the increasing role which can be played by the Implementation Support Unit in international and regional networks and activities;
e. Transfer and export/import control regimes, such as: measures to regulate re-export, trans-shipment and transits of goods, technology, material and equipment; the challenges of regulating intangible goods and services; penalties for failing to comply with these regimes; the provision of guidance and outreach to those affected by these measures; as well as the development and promulgation of relevant best practices.


The Meeting of Experts is part of a four-year series of meetings which builds on the success of a similar work programme held from 2003 to 2005. In coming years, the work programme will deal with biosafety and biosecurity; oversight, education, awareness-raising and codes of conduct; capacity-building for disease surveillance, detection and diagnosis; and responses in the case of alleged use of biological weapons.


The Meeting took place amid renewed interest in and activity surrounding the BWC, following the highly successful Sixth Review Conference. As well as commissioning the four-year work programme, the Conference had established an Implementation Support Unit for the Convention (which was officially launched on 20 August - see separate release) and had agreed on specific actions to improve participation in the treaty's confidence-building measures and to persuade non-members to join the regime. These actions are already producing results, with four states acceding to the BWC so far in 2007, and a record number of States parties participating in the confidence-building measures.

The Biological Weapons Convention, 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, opened for signature in 1972 and entered into force in 1975. The BWC was the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning an entire category of weapons. It currently has 159 States parties, with a further 15 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

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