STATES PARTIES TO BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION CONCLUDE MEETING AFTER DISCUSSING SCIENTIFIC CODES OF CONDUCT

States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) met in Geneva, Switzerland 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, banning biological and toxin weapons which its 171 Member States describe as “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.

At their meeting, States Parties recognised that codes of conduct can support the BWC in combating present and future threats posed by biological and toxin weapons. States Parties noted that a range of different approaches exist to develop codes of conduct in view of differences in national requirements and circumstances, and that whenever possible, existing mechanisms and frameworks should be used. It was understood that codes should avoid impeding scientific discovery, or placing undue constraints on research or international cooperation and exchange for peaceful purposes. Codes were considered to be most effective if they, and their underlying principles, are widely known and understood. It was recognized that all those with a responsibility for, or legitimate interest in, codes of conduct should be involved in their development, promulgation and adoption.

States Parties agreed on the importance of codes being:

· Compatible with national legislation and regulatory controls and contributing to national implementation measures;
· Simple, clear and easily understandable both to scientists and to wider civil society;
· Relevant, helpful and effective for guiding relevant actors in making decisions and taking action in accordance with the purposes and objectives of the Convention;
· Sufficiently broad in scope;
· Regularly reviewed, evaluated for effectiveness, and revised as necessary.

The Meeting of States Parties was 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, chaired by Ambassador John Freeman of the United Kingdom, concluded 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. At that meeting, national academies of science, professional societies, and academia from around the world joined States Parties and intergovernmental organizations in their efforts towards preventing the misuse of science.

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 have agreed to meet again in Geneva from 26 to 28 April 2006 for the Preparatory Committee of the forthcoming Sixth Review Conference. Ambassador Masood Khan of Pakistan has been nominated as Chair of the Preparatory Committee and President of the Review Conference. The Review Conference, due to be held between 20 November and 8 December 2006 (with the precise dates to be decided by the Preparatory Committee), will:

· Consider any further action related to the three annual meetings;
· Take into account any relevant scientific and technological developments; and
· Review the 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
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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