FIRST PREPARATORY MEETING FOR 2016 REVIEW OF BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION CONCLUDES

States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) met in Geneva, Switzerland from 26 to 27 April 2016 for the Preparatory Committee of the Eighth Review Conference. The Preparatory Committee meeting marked the beginning of a process during which the 174 States Parties to the BWC will review the operation of the Convention. 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 put in place the procedural arrangements necessary for the successful conduct of the Eighth Review Conference. Ambassador Dr. György Molnár of Hungary was elected as Chairman of the Preparatory Committee, and Ambassador Michael Biontino of Germany and Ambassador Boudjemâa Delmi of Algeria were elected as Vice-Chairmen. Ambassador Molnár was also nominated to act as President of the Eighth Review Conference. The Preparatory Committee also confirmed the dates and duration of the subsequent BWC meetings in 2016 and the financial arrangements for them. Representatives from 86 States Parties, one State neither party nor signatory to the Convention, one regional intergovernmental organization and eight non-governmental organizations attended the Preparatory Committee.

The Preparatory Committee decided to instruct the BWC Implementation Support Unit to produce eight background papers for consideration by States Parties during the review process. Final decisions on the provisional agenda for the Review Conference and its rules of procedure will be taken when the Preparatory Committee resumes in August. In addition, the Preparatory Committee heard a general exchange of views in which several States Parties introduced proposals for consideration at the Review Conference while others outlined their general priorities and expectations for the Review Conference.

Speaking at the conclusion of the first session of the Preparatory Committee on 27 April, the Chairman said the meeting paved the way for substantive discussions on States Parties’ proposals at the second session in August. He called on States Parties to turn their attention now "to further developing existing proposals, to come up with new suggestions, and to bridging differences in order to succeed in achieving a consensus outcome at the Review Conference that significantly strengthens the Convention and genuinely reduces the threats posed to international security by biological weapons".


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 of mass destruction. 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

DC16/018E