News from 2008

• BWC Chairman briefs international scientific community on progress made in 2008: From 7 to 9 December 2008, the Chairman of the 2008 meetings of the Biological Weapons Convention, Ambassador Georgi Avramchev of The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, participated in a workshop on biosecurity at the Institute of Microbiology in Beijing. The event was co-organised by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the InterAcademy Panel and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The Chairman took the opportunity to review progress throughout the year on the aims and objectives he set out at a similar meeting in Budapest, Hungary in February. In his remarks, the Ambassador Avramchev covered information on the Convention, its activities this year, the outputs produced during his chairmanship and concluded by highlighting the important role played by the Convention in both minimising the threats of biology being used to our collective harm whilst maximising its potential for benefit.
• Cook Islands accedes to Biological Weapons Convention: The Depositories confirmed that the Cook Islands deposited its instrument of accession on 4 December 2008 to become the 163rd States Party.
• Report of 2nd International Forum on Biosecurity released: The 2nd International Forum on Biosecurity, held in Budapest, Hungary from 30 March to 2 April 2008, saw individuals and organizations gather to once again look at how to reduce the risk that the results of the work done by the international scientific community could be used for hostile purposes by terrorists and states. The focus of the meeting was on what had been accomplished and what challenges remained. There was a serious effort to identify a range of potential next steps, and also an effort to identify opportunities where international scientific organizations could make substantive contributions and offer their advice and expertise to policy discussions. The report of the meeting is now available on the website of the US National Academies. The meeting was addressed by the 2008 Chair of the BWC.
• Regional Group Meetings with the Chairman: On 19 and 20 November 2008, Ambassador Avramchev addressed all three regional groups. In this remarks, the Chairman discussed his plans for the forthcoming Meeting of States Parties, looked at some of the likely outcomes and introduced reports to be presented to the meeting on both efforts to increase the membership of the BWC and the activities of the Implementation Support Unit (ISU) over the last year. Distributed at the meeting were an Indicative Schedule for the Meeting of States Parties and an informal Preliminary Report on Universalization Activities. In addition the Chairman also made mention of the informal Advance Report of the ISU.
• BWC Chairman participates in NSABB meeting: For the first time, a representative of the Convention participated in an international meeting organised by the US National Scientific Advisory Board on Biosecurity. In preparation for the meeting, the Chairman requested the ISU to put together a short background information paper on The Biological Weapons Convention and Scientific Oversight. On 5 to 6 November 2008, the Chairman, Ambassador Avramchev attended the workshop on Sustaining Progress in the Life Sciences, held in Bathesda, Maryland. During the course of the meeting, the Chairman made a series of opening remarks and contributed to the break-out session on Codes of Conduct.
• International Biosecurity Forum hears pre-recorded address from BWC Chair: Although unable to be present in person, Ambassador Avramchev contributed to this meeting held in Amman Jordan from 27 to 29 October 2008. In his statement, the Chairman addressed the importance of biosecurity, efforts to improve the non-proliferation of biological weapons, as well as the strengths of regional cooperation. The video footage of the statement can also be found online.
• Chairman’s remarks to meeting on scientific education: On 27 October 2008 Bradford University and Landau Network – Centro Volta held the meeting “Fostering the Biosecurity Norm: An Educational Module for Life Sciences Students” in Como, Italy. Ambassador Avramchev briefed the meeting on relevant progress under the BWC. Basing his remarks on the recent Meeting of Experts, the Chairman outlined the scope, content and tools he felt would be most useful for education and raising awareness. The Chairman also provided some insights of his plans for the forthcoming Meeting of States Parties.
• Chairman addresses UN General Assembly First Committee: On 17 October 2008, the Chairman addressed a session of the First Committee dedicated to other weapons of mass destruction. In his remarks, the Chair reviewed progress made since the Sixth Review Conference in 2006. He also briefed the First Committee on this year’s efforts, in particular on the outcome of the Meeting of Experts in August. Ambassador Avramchev took the opportunity to highlight some of the major threads that he recalled from that meeting. The press release from the meeting stressed that the Biological Weapons Convention had now passed a major ‘turning point’ in its efforts to tackle biological weapons.
• Biological Weapons Convention briefing for UN Security Council Resolution 1540 Committee: On 16 October 2008, the Chairman of the 2008 meetings of the Biological Weapons Convention briefed members of the UN Security Council Resolution 1540 Committee. In his statement the Chairman examined the overlap in the aims and objectives of the two intruments. The Head of the Implementation Support Unit, Mr Richard Lennane, then briefed members of the Committee on the ISU.
• Chairman writes to States Parties – releases synthesis paper & plans for Meeting of States Parties: In his letter, dated 10 October 2008, the Chairman provided States Parties with a synthesis paper which distilled part of the outcome of the Meeting of experts into a form which he hopes will facilitate preparations for the Meeting of States Parties. As preparations for the December meeting get underway, the Chair also circulated an advance version of the provisional agenda. He also took the opportunity to remind States Parties that he will also be reporting to the Meeting of States Parties on the promotion of universality.
• Chairman updates States Parties on Meeting of Experts: The Chairman wrote to States Parties on 29 July 2008 to update them on preparations for the Meeting of Experts. Included with the letter were an indicative schedule for the meeting, and an annotated list of organisations which have accepted the Chairman’s invitation to participate.
• UAE ratifies BWC – On 19 June 2008, the United Arab Emirates ratified the Biological Weapons Convention to become its 162nd State Party. The UAE, which signed the treaty on 28 September 1982, is the first non-African state to join the treaty this year. The UAE has received attention from both States Parties and successive BWC Chairs as part of the universalization activities agreed to at the treaty’s Sixth Review Conference in 2006. Ambassador Avramchev, the Chair of the 2008 meetings of the BWC welcomed the ratification and said “this is an important step towards universality. It goes to show that the BWC remains relevant in today’s security environment and that states in all regions of the world continue to see the value in joining the treaty.”
• Implementation Support Unit holds French language seminar – On 12 June the ISU held an awareness raising and universalization seminar in the Palais des Nations. The entire event was conducted in French and prompted new levels of interactivity from delegations that function primarily in that language. The event included presentations by the United Nations Institute for Disarmamament Research (as an introduction, to provide background and on national implementation), the ISU (on its creation, role and activities) and States Parties (on building confidence and transparency in the regime, as well as the two topics for 2008 meetings of the BWC).
• Chairman meets regional groups: The Chairman met the three regional groups on 12 and 16 June for a second briefing on preparations for the Meeting of Experts. In his briefing, the Chairman covered participation, the schedule, the poster sessions and sponsorship for attendance, as well as reminding States Parties of the importance of continuing efforts on universalization.
• Chairman releases updated information on Meeting of Experts. In his second letter to States Parties (dated 24 April 2008), the Chairman of this year’s meetings, Ambassador Avramchev of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, released additional information on his plans for the summer meeting (18-22 August 2008). Ambassador Avramchev provided additional information on participation of relevant organisations and experts (including an Annex to the letter listing which organisations he has invited), the organisation of the Meeting of Experts, presenting national information, poster sessions, sponsorship for participation, and further consultations.
• Positive early signs of 2008 CBM participation. As the deadline for the submission of this year’s CBM submissions (to cover 2007) passes, things are looking good for record levels of participation. 27 States had made returns by the close of business on 15 April 2008 as compared to 17 the year before. In the end, a record 65 States participated in the 2007 CBMs (to cover 2006). It is hoped that these possitive early numbers will see an even larger number of States Parties making returns during the remainder of 2008.
• Chairman addresses 2nd International Forum on Biosecurity. In early April, this forum was held in Budapest, Hungary by a variety of international scientific organisations, including both scientific academies and professional societies. The 2008 BWC Chairman, Ambassador Avramchev of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, made a key note address to this meeting. Much of the content of this meeting was pertinent for the forthcoming Meeting of Experts. In his remarks, the Chairman hoped that as many participants as possible from the Hungary event would also be able to contribute to this year’s work of the BWC.
• 2008 BWC Chairman briefs regional groups on plans for the year. Following up from his letter to States Parties (dated 14 February), the Chairman Ambassador Avramchev of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has met with all three regional groups – the Non-Aligned Movement and Other States on 27 February, the Western Group on 29 February and the Eastern Group on 14 March 2008. In his remarks to these meetings, the Chairman developed the themes laid out in his letter and received feedback from States Parties. Based upon his consultations, over the coming weeks the Chairman will further develop his ideas and write a second letter to States Parties.
• Zambia and Madagascar join the Biological Weapons Convention. BWC Depositories have confirmed that Zambia and Madagascar acceded to the BWC, respectively in 15 January and 7 March 2008 . This brings the total number of States Parties up to 161 (there remain 14 Signatories and are now 20 States not currently a member).
• 2008 BWC Chairman announces ‘first-thoughts’ on plans for the year. In a letter to States Parties, Ambassador Avramchev the Chairman of the 2008 meetings of the Biological Weapons Convention, described preparations for the Meeting of Experts due to take place in Geneva, Switzerland from 18 – 22 August. The meeting will address both ‘biosafety and biosecurity’ as well as ‘oversight, education, awareness raising and… codes of conduct’. The Chair requested states to provide and update information on national arrangements relevant to the topics under discussion. Amb. Avramchev also requested input on identifying relevant organisations and experts to participate in the meeting. The Chair also provided the first details of likely background documents to be prepared by the Implementation Support Unit. Amb. Avramchev also discussed improving interaction amongst experts and sponsorship for participation. In the wider BWC context, the letter also touches on both universalization activities and the submission of 2008 Confidence-Building Measures.