BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION MEETING TO PREPARE FOR 2016 REVIEW CONFERENCE

States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) will meet in Geneva, Switzerland from 26 to 27 April 2016 for the Preparatory Committee of the Eighth Review Conference. In an innovation from previous review cycles, they will resume their work from 8 to 12 August. The Review Conference itself will take place in Geneva from 7 to 25 November.

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. According to its 174 States Parties, biological weapons are “repugnant to the conscience of mankind”.

The Preparatory Committee will make the procedural arrangements necessary for a successful outcome of the Eighth Review Conference in November. Ambassador György Molnár of Hungary will chair the Preparatory Committee and is expected to be nominated as President for the high-profile meeting later in the year. An innovation with this review process is that the Preparatory Committee will also include a general exchange of views, and consider comprehensively all provisions of the Convention. The former will take place at this meeting from 26 to 27 April, while the latter will take place at the August meeting.

The Eighth Review Conference will be the first opportunity for States Parties to examine the operation of the Convention since the Seventh Review Conference concluded in 2011. The review 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 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 2012 to 2015 intersessional meetings and decide on any further action; and
· Decide on any future action necessary to strengthen the implementation of the BWC.

This week’s meeting is the first time States Parties have met since the successful conclusion in December 2015 of a four-year process designed to enhance the implementation of this important international treaty. The 2012 to 2015 intersessional process saw States Parties discuss the following three topics every year:

· Cooperation and assistance, with a particular focus on strengthening cooperation and assistance under Article X;
· Review of developments in the field of science and technology related to the Convention;
· Strengthening national implementation.

Additionally, the following biennial items were also discussed:

· How to enable fuller participation in the CBMs (2012 and 2013);

· How to strengthen implementation of Article VII, including consideration of detailed procedures and mechanisms for the provision of assistance and cooperation by States Parties (2014 and 2015).

The Biological Weapons Convention, which opened for signature in 1972 and entered into force in 1975, was the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning an entire category of weapons. It currently has 174 States Parties, with a further eight having signed but not yet ratified.



For further information, please contact:

Daniel Feakes
Secretary of the Preparatory Committee for the
Eighth Review Conference of the
Biological Weapons Convention
tel: +41 (0)22 917 2230
fax: +41 (0)22 917 0483
e-mail: dfeakes@unog.ch
web: http://www.unog.ch/bwc/meeting
twitter: @BWCISU



For use of the information media; not an official record

DC16/017E