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2004 Meeting of States parties to the Biological
Weapons Convention, December 10, 2004
'MEETING OF STATES PARTIES TO THE BIOLOGICAL
WEAPONS CONVENTION CONCLUDES, States parties agree on the value of
supporting and improving national and international measures
against infectious and deliberate diseases', December 13,
2004
The 2004 Meeting of States parties to the Convention on the
Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of
Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their
Destruction (commonly known as the Biological Weapons Convention,
or BWC) concluded on 10 December, with the 89 participating States
parties agreeing on a final document highlighting the value of
national and international efforts to combat infectious and
deliberate diseases.
The Meeting of States parties, chaired by Peter Goosen of South
Africa, further developed the work begun at the Meeting of Experts,
held from 19 to 30 July this year, on two topics: (1) strengthening
and broadening national and international institutional efforts and
existing mechanisms for the surveillance, detection, diagnosis and
combating of infectious diseases affecting humans, animals, and
plants; and (2) enhancing 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.
On the first topic, the States parties recognised that infectious
disease outbreaks can be contained and suppressed through early
detection, immediate response and co-operation and support at the
national and international level; that strengthening and broadening
national and international surveillance, detection, diagnosis and
combating of infectious disease may support the object and purpose
of the Convention; that the primary responsibility for
surveillance, detection, diagnosis and combating of infectious
diseases rests with States parties, while the (World Health
Organization (WHO)), the (Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO))
and the (World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)) have global
responsibilities, within their mandates, in this regard, and that
the respective structures, planning and activities of States
parties and the WHO, FAO and OIE should be co-ordinated with and
complement one another; and that scientific and technological
developments have the potential to significantly improve disease
surveillance and response.
The States parties consequently agreed on the value of: supporting
the existing networks of relevant international organisations for
the surveillance, detection, diagnosis and combating of infectious
diseases and acting to strengthen the WHO, FAO and OIE programmes,
within their mandates, for the continued development and
strengthening of, and research into, rapid, effective and reliable
activities for the surveillance, detection, diagnosis and combating
of infectious diseases, including in cases of emergencies of
international concern; of improving, wherever possible, national
and regional disease surveillance capabilities, and, if in a
position to do so, assisting and encouraging, with the necessary
agreement, other States Parties to do the same; and of working to
improve communication on disease surveillance, including with the
WHO, FAO and OIE, and among States Parties.
On the second topic, the States Parties recognised that
capabilities for responding to, investigating and mitigating the
effects of cases of alleged use of biological or toxin weapons or
suspicious outbreaks of disease promote the object and purpose of
the Convention; that States Parties’ national
preparedness and arrangements substantially contribute to
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; and that the
Secretary-General’s investigation mechanism, set
out in A/44/561 and endorsed by the General Assembly in its
resolution A/Res/45/57, represents an international institutional
mechanism for investigating cases of alleged use of biological or
toxin weapons.
The States parties consequently agreed on the value of: continuing
to develop their own national capacities for response,
investigation and mitigation, in cooperation with the relevant
international and regional organisations, and, if in a position to
do so, assisting and encouraging, with the necessary agreement,
other States parties to do the same; and of the Sixth Review
Conference considering, among other things, the further development
of current procedures for the provision of assistance, by those in
a position to do so, to States parties in cases of alleged use of
biological weapons or suspicious outbreaks of disease
Moreover, the Meeting encouraged States parties to the inform the
forthcoming Sixth Review Conference (due to be held in 2006) of,
among other things, any actions, measures or other steps that they
may have taken on the basis of the discussions at the 2004 Meeting
of Experts and of the outcome of the 2004 Meeting of States
parties.
The 2004 Meeting of States parties was part of a three-year
programme mandated by the Fifth Review Conference of the BWC. The
Review Conference, which concluded in 2002, decided that States
parties would meet twice yearly until the next Review Conference in
2006 to “to discuss, and promote common
understanding and effective action on� specific topics
related to better implementation of the BWC. In 2005, the Meeting
of Experts (13 to 24 June) and the Meeting of States parties (5 to
9 December) will consider the content, promulgation, and adoption
of codes of conduct for scientists. States parties to the BWC are
due to meet in 2006 for the Sixth Review Conference to 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 153 States Parties, with a further 16 having signed
but not yet ratified.
Source: United Nations Office at Geneva, http://www.unog.ch.
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© 2003 The Acronym Institute.
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