Disarmament Documentation

Back to Disarmament Documentation

BWC Review Conference Concludes, November 15

Fifth Review Conference of the States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (BWC); resumed session, Geneva, November 11-15.

Note: the Fifth Review Conference was scheduled to be held in Geneva from November 19-December 7, 2001. The Conference was suspended on December 7 after failure to agree a Final Declaration - see Jenni Rissanen, 'Left in Limbo: BWC Review Conference Suspended on Edge of Collapse', Disarmament Diplomacy No. 62 (January/February 2002). Ten days were originally allocated for the resumed session - November 11-22, 2002. A full report of the truncated meeting will appear in Disarmament Diplomacy No. 68 (December 2002).

UN Press Release

'Biological Weapons Conference reaches agreement on future work', UN Press Release DC/2848, Geneva, November 15.

The Fifth [BWC] Review Conference of the States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction concluded today with the adoption of a final report setting out a fresh approach to combat the deliberate use of disease as a weapon.

Under the agreement, reached late on Thursday evening, States parties to the Biological Weapons Convention are to meet annually in the lead-up to the next Review Conference in 2006. In preparation for each annual meeting, it was agreed to hold a two-week meeting of experts.

These meetings of States parties will discuss and promote common understanding and effective action on a range of issues pertinent to strengthening the Convention. Each meeting will focus on specific elements to strengthen the Convention. On the agenda for next year will be consultations on national measures to implement the prohibitions of the Convention, and on national measures to ensure the security of pathogenic micro-organisms and toxins. In 2004, the focus of the process will shift to enhancing international capabilities for responding to, investigating and mitigating the effects of cases of alleged use of biological weapons or suspicious outbreaks of disease, and to strengthening national and international efforts against infectious diseases. The 2005 meetings will address codes of conduct for scientists.

The terms of the new approach are detailed in the final report of the Fifth Review Conference, which was adopted today by consensus. The successful conclusion of the Conference marks the end of a year-long series of informal negotiations by its President, Ambassador Tibor Tóth of Hungary. Significant differences were overcome to achieve this agreement. A round of applause from delegates greeted Ambassador Tóth after it was decided that he was to return as the Chairman of the first series of meetings of States parties in 2003.

This new process has been described as part of a multi-pronged approach by the international community to deal with the threat posed by biological weapons. International resolve to deal with the immediate threat has been demonstrated by the recent unanimous decision of the United Nations Security Council. The process adopted by the Review Conference to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention demonstrates the continued commitment of States parties to combating the threat of biological weapons over the longer term.

Ambassador Tóth said the outcome allowed States parties to overcome their recent difficulties and dedicate themselves to innovative and constructive work, preparations for which he would start at once.

In its reaction to the adoption of the new approach, the Group of the Non-Aligned Movement and Other States expressed its disappointment at the inability to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention through the proposed protocol. The Group noted that the language of the decision included ambiguities and that only a practical approach from States parties would ensure that the required work was done. It noted that States parties were sovereign and that at any time they could together decide upon any further work that may be required. It was the Group's understanding that the time set aside to reach a decision over the final report had been extremely limited and that during the next Review Conference in 2006 discussions over further action would take place. Furthermore, the Group believed that the Biological Weapons Convention represented a composite whole, and while it was possible to address related issues separately, it was necessary for all of the interlinked elements to be dealt with.

The statement by the Group of Non-Aligned Movement and Other States also indicated that the Review Conference had succeeded in preserving multilateralism as the only sustainable vehicle for preventing the use of disease as instruments of terror and war. The Group echoed Ambassador Tóth's comments by calling upon States parties to work in a constructive fashion and concluded by saying that the time for division should now be past and States parties should unite around the Convention.

The Western Group welcomed the adoption of this decision and noted that it provided for a qualitatively different outcome to that found in the final products of previous Review Conferences. Moreover, the Western Group felt that the decision carefully balanced the views of all States parties; was clear and self-explanatory; and strengthened the effective implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention by establishing a framework for an ongoing multilateral process in the lead-up to the Sixth Review Conference.

Shortly after the adoption of the new approach of follow-up meetings, Ambassador Tóth asserted that "we must continue to work cooperatively in this multilateral forum to ensure that the threat of biological warfare is diminished" - a sentiment seconded by the Republic of Korea, who took the opportunity to announce the withdrawal of their reservation to the 1925 Geneva Protocol.

The Fifth Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention formally closed on Friday, 15 November 2002.

Back to the Top of the Page

© 2002 The Acronym Institute.