BWC Sixth Review Conference 2006

Transcription

1 Briefing Book BWC Sixth Review Conference 2006 Prepared by the British American Security Information Council (BASIC), the Harvard Sussex Program (HSP) and the Verification Research, Training and Information Centre (VERTIC)

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3 Briefing Book BWC Sixth Review Conference 2006 Prepared by the British American Security Information Council (BASIC), the Harvard Sussex Program (HSP) and the Verification Research, Training and Information Centre (VERTIC)

4 Written and compiled by Daniel Feakes and Caitríona McLeish Additional text by Michael Crowley, Ian Davis and Angela Woodward Printed by nbmedia, Geneva ISBN: October 2006

5 Acknowledgements The authors would firstly like to express their gratitude to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for providing funding for the production, printing and distribution of this Briefing Book. A number of people have offered comments and provided suggestions on various draft versions of the Briefing Book for which we are all very grateful; they include Richard Guthrie, Bob Mathews, Piers Millet, Graham Pearson, Julian Perry Robinson and Nicholas Sims. We would also like to thank the website for enabling us to obtain some BWC documents. Thanks also to the staff of the BWC Meetings Secretariat who have been unfailingly helpful in response to our numerous requests for information and who kindly allowed us to reproduce their map of BWC membership in section 1, and to officials in the Governments of France, Russia, the UK and the US for providing the depositary contact details listed in section 2.

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7 Briefing Book BWC Sixth Review Conference 2006 Table of Contents Acronyms and Abbreviations Introduction 1 The Treaties 1925 Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare 1972 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Protocol List of States Parties and Signatory-only States to the BWC Map of BWC status 2 BWC Documents 2.1 Final Documents of BWC Review Conferences BWC/CONF.I/10 Final Document of the First Review Conference, Part II (1980) BWC/CONF.II/13 Final Document of the Second Review Conference, Part II (1986) BWC/CONF.III/23 Final Document of the Third Review Conference, Part II (1991) BWC/CONF.IV/9 Final Document of the Fourth Review Conference, Part II (1996) BWC/CONF.V/17 Final Document of the Fifth Review Conference (2001 and 2002) 2.2 Reports of Meetings of States Parties BWC/MSP/2003/4 Report of the Meeting of States Parties BWC/MSP/2004/3 Report of the Meeting of States Parties BWC/MSP/2005/3 Report of the Meeting of States Parties 2.3 Other BWC Documents BWC/CONF.II/EX/2 Ad Hoc Meeting of Scientific and Technical Experts: Report (1987) BWC/CONF.III/23 Annex to Final Declaration on Confidence Building Measures (1991) BWC/CONF.III/VEREX/9 Ad Hoc Group of Governmental Experts to Identify and Examine Potential Verification Measures From a Scientific and Technical Standpoint: Report (1993) BWC/SPCONF/1 Final Report of the Special Conference (Part II) (1994) BWC/CONS/1 Report of the Formal Consultative Process (1997) 15 December 1997 Letter from Ambassador Soutar Regarding the Formal Consultative Process

8 3 UN Documents 3.1 United Nations General Assembly A/RES/58/72 (2003) Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction A/RES/59/110 (2004) Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction A/RES/60/96 (2005) Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction A/RES/60/288 (2006) The UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy 3.2 United Nations Security Council UNSCR 620 (1988) S/23500 Note by the President of the Security Council (1992) UNSCR 1540 (2004) UNSCR 1673 (2006) 3.3 United Nations Secretary-General A/59/565, A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility. Report of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change (2004) [extracts] A/ , In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All (2005) [extracts] A/60/285, Uniting Against Terrorism: Recommendations for a Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (2006) [extracts] 3.4 UNSG Investigative Mechanism A/RES/37/98 D (1982) UNSCR 620 (1988) A/RES/45/57 C (1990) 4 Documents from Other International Organizations 4.1 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Biosecurity in Food and Agriculture, COAG/2003/9 (2003) 4.2 International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Biotechnology, Weapons and Humanity (2002) Preventing Hostile Use of the Life Sciences: From Ethics and Law to Best Practice (2004) 4.3 International Maritime Organization (IMO) Protocol to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (2005) 4.4 Interpol 1st Interpol Global Conference Final Communiqué (2005)

9 4.5 Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) RC-1/3 Political Declaration of the First CWC Review Conference (2003) C-8/DEC.16 Action Plan on National Implementation (2003) EC-M-23/DEC.3 Action Plan on Universality (2003) 4.6 World Health Organization (WHO) WHA Resolution (2001) Global Health Security: Epidemic Alert and Response WHA Resolution (2002) Global Public Health Response to Natural Occurrence, Accidental Release or Deliberate Use of Biological and Chemical Agents or Radionuclear Material that Affect Health Laboratory Biosafety Manual (3rd Ed.) (2004) [extract] International Health Regulations (2005) 4.7 World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) International organisations and their role in helping to protect the worldwide community against natural and intentional biological disasters, B. Vallat, J. Pinto & A. Schudel, Scientific and Technical Review [OIE] 25 (1) (2006) 5 Documents from Regional and Other Organizations/Regions 5.1 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ASEAN Regional Forum Statement on Non-Proliferation (2004) 5.2 European Union (EU) Council Common Position 2003/805/CFSP of 17 November 2003 on the universalisation and reinforcement of multilateral agreements in the field of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and means of delivery (2003) Council Joint Action 2006/184/CFSP of 27 February 2006 in support of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, in the framework of the EU Strategy against the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (2006) EU Action Plan on biological and toxin weapons, complementary to the EU Joint Action in support of the BTWC (2006) Council Common Position 2006/242/CFSP of 20 March 2006 relating to the 2006 Review Conference of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (2006) 5.3 Latin America The Declaration of Mendoza (1991) Declaration on Renunciation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Cartagena des Indias (1991) 5.4 Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) 14th Summit Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Movement, Havana (2006) [extract] 5.5 Organization of American States (OAS) AG/RES (XXXIV-O/04), The Americas as a Biological and Chemical-Weapons- Free Region 5.6 Southeast Asia Australia-Indonesia BWC Workshop, Melbourne (2005) Australia-Indonesia BWC Workshop, Bali (2006)

10 6 Documents from Other Arrangements 6.1 Australia Group Control list of dual-use biological equipment and related technology (2005) List of biological agents for export control (2006) List of plant pathogens for export control (2005) List of animal pathogens for export control (2005) 6.2 G8 The Global Partnership, Kananaskis (2002) Evian WMD non-proliferation declaration (2003) Evian WMD action plan (2003) Sea Island non-proliferation action plan (2004) Gleneagles non-proliferation statement (2005) St Petersburg non-proliferation statement (2006) 6.3 Proliferation Security Initiative Statement of interdiction principles (2003) 7 Other Documents 7.1 Harvard Sussex Program Draft Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Developing, Producing, Acquiring, Stockpiling, Retaining, Transferring or Using Biological or Chemical Weapons 7.2 InterAcademy Panel Statement on Biosecurity (2005) 7.3 The National Academies Biotechnology Research in an Age of Terrorism: Confronting the Dual Use Dilemma (2003) (the 'Fink Report') [executive summary] Globalization, Biosecurity and the Future of the Life Sciences (2006) (the 'Lemon-Relman Report') [executive summary] 7.4 VERTIC A New Strategy: Strengthening the Biological Weapons Regime Through Modular Mechanisms (2006) [executive summary] 7.5 WMD Commission WMD Commission, Weapons of Terror: Freeing the World of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Arms (2006) [Chapter 4] 8 Further Reading

11 Abbreviations and Acronyms AG Australia Group AHG Ad Hoc Group ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations BW Biological Weapons BWC Biological Weapons Convention CBM Confidence-Building Measure CBW Chemical and biological warfare/weapons CD Conference on Disarmament CW Chemical Weapons CWC Chemical Weapons Convention EU European Union FAO Food and Agriculture Organization G8 Group of Eight Nations IAP InterAcademy Panel ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross

12 IHR International Health Regulations IMO International Maritime Organization Interpol International Criminal Police Organization IO International Organization MSP Meeting of States Parties MX Meeting of Experts NAM Non-Aligned Movement NGO Non-Governmental Organization OAS Organization of American States OIE OPCW World Organization for Animal Health (formerly Office International des Epizooties) Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons PrepCom Preparatory Committee PSI Proliferation Security Initiative SUA UN Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation United Nations UNDDA United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs

13 UNGA United Nations General Assembly UNSC United Nations Security Council UNSG United Nations Secretary-General VEREX WHO Ad Hoc Group of Governmental Experts to Identify and Examine Potential Verification Measures from a Scientific and Technical Standpoint World Health Organization WMD Weapons of Mass Destruction

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17 Introduction On 20 November 2006 States Parties to the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) will reconvene in the Palais des Nations in Geneva for the treaty s Sixth Review Conference. In an attempt to facilitate and stimulate active participation in the Conference by government delegations, BASIC, HSP and VERTIC have developed this comprehensive BWC Briefing Book. It contains official documents and other texts relating to the biological weapons regime, including: official BWC documents (including the Final Documents from the previous five Review Conferences); documents from the United Nations, other international and regional organisations; documents from informal arrangements; and supporting material from various non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Although designed primarily for Review Conference delegates, BASIC, HSP and VERTIC hope this Briefing Book will also be a useful resource for researchers, NGOs, journalists and others in civil society with an interest in the biological weapons regime embodied in the BWC. Each of our three organizations has been a longstanding supporter of the BWC and of efforts to strengthen it. The BWC is a landmark treaty in international efforts to tackle threats to international peace and security as it was the first treaty to comprehensively ban an entire category of weapons of mass destruction. While the BWC itself may have been through trials and tribulations over its almost 35-year lifespan, it reflects a fundamental norm of the international community that the hostile use of disease is indeed repugnant to the conscience of mankind. We view the Sixth Review Conference as an opportunity to consolidate the past achievements of the BWC and to plan for its future. We believe that the norm embodied in the BWC is strong and that the Review Conference can take practical steps to improve the universality and implementation of the Convention. Background to the Briefing Book This Briefing Book has been a long time in design and preparation. Initial discussions took place at a workshop of the Pugwash Study Group on the Implementation of the CBW Conventions in April 2005 in the Netherlands, and a more refined outline of the book s structure was presented at a subsequent Pugwash CBW workshop in Geneva. However, it was only with the generous granting of funds by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands that the book became more than just another good idea that never gets realised. As such, the authors are extremely grateful to the officials of the Security Policy Department of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their support. The primary idea behind the Briefing Book is to assist delegates to the Sixth Review Conference of the BWC in their work and thus to contribute to a successful and constructive outcome to the Conference. By collecting together as many of the key relevant documents as possible, the authors hope to provide a convenient reference source for use during the Review Conference, and beyond. Having attended many previous BWC meetings, as well as other international diplomatic meetings, we felt it would be advantageous to have as many of the relevant documents as possible collected into one publication. We also hope that the Briefing Book will raise awareness of the BWC both with states that have not yet joined the Convention, and with researchers, academics, journalists and the general public who have an interest in issues relating to it. In producing this Briefing Book, we also hoped to demonstrate the constructive input which civil society can make to international meetings such as the Sixth Review Conference. All of the authoring organizations are longstanding supporters of the BWC and see this Briefing Book as one of our contributions to nurturing and strengthening the Convention.

18 The concept of a reference compilation of documents for a Review Conference did not originate with this publication. The authors wish to acknowledge the University of Southampton Mountbatten Centre for International Studies (MCIS) NPT Briefing Book, first published in 1990, which served as a model for this Briefing Book (see soton.ac.uk/publications/towards2005npt.html) There seemed to be no obvious reason why something which was clearly useful and well-received by delegates to NPT Review Conferences would not also be seen in the same way by delegates to BWC Review Conferences. The authors would like to express their thanks to the MCIS staff for their encouragement and support in producing this Briefing Book. This Briefing Book is seen as being complementary to the Key Points for the Sixth Review Conference volume produced by the Department of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford (see The authors would like to thank the editors of the Key Points for their encouragement and support. Selection of Documents In preparing a compilation of reference documents, we necessarily had to make decisions about which documents, or portions of them, to include or exclude. We realise that questions may be asked about our selection criteria, such as why we included one particular document and not another, and why we did not include many documents from the years prior to One easy answer to these questions relates to space; this Briefing Book is already quite a bulky volume and including more documents would have meant an even heavier book, and one that our target audience would be less likely to use. This factor mitigated against including lengthy documents in their entirety, except where they were essential or where extracting sections would have lessened their usefulness. Where we have included extracts from long documents we provide a reference to the original text (most are accessible in full on the internet). In order to include those documents of most relevance to the Sixth Review Conference, we have mostly restricted our source materials to those published since the first session of the Fifth Review Conference in The main exception to this has been documents from previous Review Conferences and other BWC meetings. For practical reasons the selection is also limited to English language documents. However, most of the BWC documents have been produced in all six official UN languages, so Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish versions should be available from the websites referenced throughout the Briefing Book (although Arabic did not become an official UN language until later). In addition, we have refrained from including any documents of the Sixth Review Conference itself (including its Preparatory Committee) that have been released in advance because they will be distributed at the Review Conference anyway and because more are being released all the time, making any selection we include out of date. We are also aware of the excellent resource that is where hundreds, if not thousands, of BWC documents from the First Review Conference in 1980 onwards are available. And, during the preparation of this Briefing Book, the BWC Meetings Secretariat launched a BWC website which also includes copies of many key BWC documents, particularly those issued for the Sixth Review Conference itself. The website ( also contains much useful information on the Sixth Review Conference itself, including advance copies of papers and information for States Parties, NGOs and the

19 media. While aware of these electronic resources and keen to avoid duplication, we were also intent on producing something that was useful to delegates in the conference room and when away from computers. Having said that, we will post the Briefing Book on our websites, so that people can download it if they wish. While we have tried to be as comprehensive as possible, it is likely that we have missed some useful documents or that people will take issue with our selection policy. We therefore welcome comments on this Briefing Book, including suggestions of additional documents that may be included in a future edition. A feedback form is included at the end of the Briefing Book for this purpose. Outcomes A successful outcome of the Sixth Review Conference is vital to avoid the risk that the BWC may be seriously undermined at a time when biological weapons are recognised as a growing threat to international security. BASIC, HSP and VERTIC believe that the BWC remains the cornerstone of global efforts to prohibit and prevent biological weapons. For it to be truly effective, the Convention requires continued and renewed support. The baseline objective for a successful outcome at the Review Conference, therefore, should be for States Parties to identify, develop and promote initiatives for strengthening the BWC in the framework of a further series of annual meetings between the Sixth and Seventh Review Conferences, as has been suggested by a number of States Parties. There is no shortage of pragmatic recommendations for strengthening the BW prohibition regime; what is needed is innovative thinking and political will. It is clear that there is no one single solution to a problem as complex as the threat posed by biological weapons. What is required is the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders at all levels from the individual to the international. In this regard, this Briefing Book will help to demonstrate the range of organizations, initiatives and arrangements that are already engaged in this process and contributes positively to promoting interactions and constructive collaborations. Michael Crowley (VERTIC) Ian Davis (BASIC) Daniel Feakes (HSP) Caitríona McLeish (HSP) Angela Woodward (VERTIC) October 2006

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