Disarmament Documentation

Back to Disarmament Documentation

2005 Meeting of States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention, December 5 - 9, 2005

'States Parties to Biological Weapons Convention conclude meeting after discussing scientific codes of conduct', UN Press Release, December 9, 2005.

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.

Back to the Top of the Page

UN Secretary-General's message to the meeting

Geneva, Switzerland, 5 December 2005 - Secretary-General's message to the meeting of State Parties to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention [delivered by Enrique Roman-Morey, Deputy Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament]

In this year in which the United Nations commemorates its 60th anniversary, the international community also marks the anniversaries of two major treaties addressing the terrible threat posed by biological weapons.

The Geneva Protocol was the first truly international agreement to seek the prohibition of the use of chemical and biological weapons as a method of warfare. It is therefore appropriate to take this opportunity to call on the countries that still maintain reservations to the Protocol to withdraw them, since other conventions agreed to since then have rendered them obsolete.

This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the entry into force of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. It remains at least as relevant today, given the challenges of our time. Developments in the life sciences in the years ahead will no doubt bring remarkable benefits, but they may also carry with them, as an almost inevitable corollary, considerable dangers. There has never been more urgent need for international commitment to the universal application and full compliance with the Convention.

The question of a scientific Code of Conduct is clearly of great importance. Your discussions on the Code this week offer a further approach for strengthening the Convention.

Looking ahead to next year's review conference, this is a major opportunity to reaffirm the ban on biological and toxin weapons. It will also provide a chance to address the threat posed by the possible use of such weapons by terrorists. Efforts since the last review conference three years ago have focused greater international attention on the main issues. It is increasingly understood that bolstering the biological security regime has become a matter of tremendous importance for global health and international peace and security. I urge you to recognize how much is at stake, and to make concerted efforts to ensure that next year's review conference succeeds in its task.

For my part, I remain ready to take all necessary action to assist international efforts in the event of the deliberate use of biological weapons. Please accept my best wishes for a productive session.

Source: United Nations, http://www.un.org.

Official Documents from the 2005 Meeting of States Parties to the BTWC is available at: http://disarmament.un.org/wmd/bwc/annualmeetings/listofdocs-2005%20meeting%20of%20States%20Parties.html

Back to the Top of the Page

© 2005 The Acronym Institute.