News from 2017

• 2018 scale of assessments – The Financial Resources Management Service of the United Nations Office at Geneva has provided the preliminary assessment per State Party for contributions to the BWC budget for the year 2018. Formal invoices will be sent to all BWC States Parties in the coming days. The Eighth Review Conference requested States Parties to proceed with the payment of their share of the estimated costs as soon as the assessment notices have been received.
• Status of contributions – The Financial Resources Management Service of the United Nations Office at Geneva has provided a summary of the financial contributions to the four disarmament conventions, as of 30 November 2017. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document. The Eighth BWC Review Conference in November 2016 requested States Parties to proceed with the payment of their share of the estimated costs as soon as the assessment notices have been received. The assessment notices were sent to all States Parties on 13 February 2017.
• BWC Workshop – On 8 November the Geneva Centre for Security (GCSP) jointly co-organized with the BWC ISU a workshop in preparation for the Meeting of States Parties to the BWC. More than 50 participants attended the event and Amb. Amandeep Singh Gill presented his views on possible expectations from the meeting.
• International biosecurity conference – The Russian Federation hosted an international conference “Global Biosecurity: Problems and Solutions” from 1-2 November in Sochi, Russian Federation. The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States of America issued a joint statement on the vital importance of reinforcing the BWC. Amb. Amandeep Singh Gill, Permanent Representative of India to the Conference on Disarmament and Chairman of the 2017 Meeting of States Parties shared in the Final Plenary Session his views about the crucial importance of the upcoming meeting.
• Status of contributions – The Financial Resources Management Service of the United Nations Office at Geneva has provided a summary of the financial contributions to the four disarmament conventions, as of 31 October 2017. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document. The Eighth BWC Review Conference in November 2016 requested States Parties to proceed with the payment of their share of the estimated costs as soon as the assessment notices have been received. The assessment notices were sent to all States Parties on 13 February 2017.
• Preparing for the 2017 MSP – On 8 November, the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) and the ISU will organize a workshop for Geneva-based delegations to discuss what to expect from the Meeting of States Parties and what could be its outcomes.
• MSP official documents – All four pre-session official documents for the Meeting of States Parties in December are now available on the MSP webpage – the provisional agenda, the provisional programme of work, the 2017 report on the activities of the ISU, and the Chairman’s report on universalization.
• BWC Workshop – Malaysia and the United States of America will co-organize a BWC Workshop entitled ‘Reports on BWC-relevant developments by international experts’, which will take place from 30 November to 1 December 2017 in the Council Chamber, Palais des Nations. Further information can be found in the workshop flyer and the workshop agenda.
• Practical arrangements for the 2017 Meeting of States Parties – On 25 October 2017, the Implementation Support Unit sent an information letter to BWC States Parties and Signatory States on the practical arrangements for the Meeting of States Parties, which will be held at the Palais des Nations from 4 to 8 December 2017. An Aide-Mémoire was attached to the letter.
• Status of contributions – The Financial Resources Management Service of the United Nations Office at Geneva has provided a summary of the financial contributions to the four disarmament conventions, as of 30 September 2017. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document. The Eighth BWC Review Conference in November 2016 requested States Parties to proceed with the payment of their share of the estimated costs as soon as the assessment notices have been received. The assessment notices were sent to all States Parties on 13 February 2017.
• Samoa accedes to the BWC – The United States of America informed the ISU that Samoa deposited its instrument of accession to the BWC in Washington, DC on 21 September 2017. As of this date, Samoa is therefore the 179th State Party to the Convention.
• Status of contributions – The Financial Resources Management Service of the United Nations Office at Geneva has provided a summary of the financial contributions to the four disarmament conventions, as of 31 August 2017. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document. The Eighth BWC Review Conference in November 2016 requested States Parties to proceed with the payment of their share of the estimated costs as soon as the assessment notices have been received. The assessment notices were sent to all States Parties on 13 February 2017.
• Letter from the Chairman – On 5 September, the Chairman of the 2017 Meeting of States Parties, Ambassador Amandeep Singh Gill of India, wrote to all States Parties and Signatory States.
• 2017 Meeting of States Parties Chairs confirmed – On 4 September 2017, Ambassador Amandeep Singh Gill of India was formally confirmed as Chairman of the 2017 BWC Meeting of States Parties. Ambassador Michael Biontino of Germany and Ambassador Juraj Podhorský of Slovakia will serve as Vice-Chairs.
• Office-Holders for the 2017 Meeting of States Parties – Regional Group Coordinators have informed the ISU about their nominations for the office-holders for the 2017 Meeting of States Parties. More details are provided in a letter circulated by the ISU.
• BWC Newsletter August/2017 – The BWC Implementation Support Unit has prepared a new issue of the BWC newsletter in line with its mandate to facilitate communication among States Parties and to serve as a focal point for the sharing of information related to the BWC. Comments and feedback are welcome and should be sent to bwc@unog.ch.
• Regional Workshop for the Pacific Region – On 27-28 July 2017, a regional workshop on universalization, hosted by Fiji, took place in Nadi. The workshop was organized in cooperation with the UNODA and the ISU, with the financial support of the EU. The workshop is part of the EU Council Decision 2016/51 to support universalization and Implementation of the BWC. Details and a report of the workshop could be found here.
• Status of contributions – The Financial Resources Management Service of the United Nations Office at Geneva has provided a summary of the financial contributions to the four disarmament conventions, as of 31 July 2017. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document. The Eighth BWC Review Conference in November 2016 requested States Parties to proceed with the payment of their share of the estimated costs as soon as the assessment notices have been received. The assessment notices were sent to all States Parties on 13 February 2017.
• New educational and outreach material available about the Biological Weapons Convention – The BWC Implementation Support Unit has prepared an information brochure about the Convention. Produced with financial assistance from the European Union, the document describes in an easily understandable manner the importance and benefits of the Convention. The document is available both in hardcopy as well as in electronic format (click here).
• Status of contributions – The Financial Resources Management Service of the United Nations Office at Geneva has provided a summary of the financial contributions to the four disarmament conventions, as of 30 June 2017. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document. The Eighth BWC Review Conference in November 2016 requested States Parties to proceed with the payment of their share of the estimated costs as soon as the assessment notices have been received. The assessment notices were sent to all States Parties on 13 February 2017.
• Informal meeting on 2017 MSP – The BWC Depositary Governments, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America will convene a second informal meeting on 23 June to discuss organizational issues for the 2017 Meeting of States Parties. More details are provided in a letter circulated by the ISU.
• BWC Newsletter 4/2017 – The BWC Implementation Support Unit has prepared a new issue of the BWC newsletter in line with its mandate to facilitate communication among States Parties and to serve as a focal point for the sharing of information related to the BWC. Comments and feedback are welcome and should be sent to bwc@unog.ch.
• Informal meeting on 2017 MSP – The BWC Depositary Governments, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America will convene an informal meeting on 7 June to discuss organizational issues for the 2017 Meeting of States Parties. More details are provided in a letter circulated by the ISU.
• Status of contributions – The Financial Resources Management Service of the United Nations Office at Geneva has provided a summary of the financial contributions to the four disarmament conventions, as of 31 May 2017. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document. The Eighth BWC Review Conference in November 2016 requested States Parties to proceed with the payment of their share of the estimated costs as soon as the assessment notices have been received. The assessment notices were sent to all States Parties on 13 February 2017.
• Letter regarding office-holders for the 2017 MSP – On 26 May 2017, the Implementation Support Unit sent a letter to all BWC States Parties and Signatory States updating them on the status of nominations for the Chairman and two Vice-Chairmen of the Meeting of States Parties which will take place in December 2017.
• Status of contributions – The Financial Resources Management Service of the United Nations Office at Geneva has provided a summary of the financial contributions to the four disarmament conventions, as of 30 April 2017. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document. The Eighth BWC Review Conference in November 2016 requested States Parties to proceed with the payment of their share of the estimated costs as soon as the assessment notices have been received. The assessment notices were sent to all States Parties on 13 February 2017.
• Biosecurity Symposium and Training Course held in Qatar – The National Committee for the Prohibition of Weapons (NCPW) of the State of Qatar has informed the ISU that it carried out a‘Symposium on the Prevention of Biological Weapons Proliferation and Biological Terrorism’ (3-4 April 2017) and a ‘Training Workshop for Future Biological Weapons Monitoring Verification and Inspection of Inspectors’ in the State of Qatar (5-6 April 2017) in 2017 to further strengthen the implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention:. The events were held under the auspices of His Excellency Lt. Gen. Staff (Pilot) Ghanem Bin Shaheen Al Ghanem, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces in the National Committee for the Prohibition of Weapons and convened through the Doha Regional Centre for CBRN training. A summary of both events can be found here.
• Addendum to the HSP report on the Eighth Review Conference – The Harvard Sussex Program on Chemical and Biological Weapons has published an Addendum to the report dated February 2017 entitled “The BTWC Eighth Review Conference: A Disappointing Outcome”.
• BWC Newsletter 3/2017 – The BWC Implementation Support Unit has prepared a new issue of the BWC newsletter in line with its mandate to facilitate communication among States Parties and to serve as a focal point for the sharing of information related to the BWC. Comments and feedback are welcome and should be sent to bwc@unog.ch.
• Status of contributions – The Financial Resources Management Service of the United Nations Office at Geneva has provided a summary of the financial contributions to the four disarmament conventions, as of 31 March 2017. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document. The Eighth BWC Review Conference in November 2016 requested States Parties to proceed with the payment of their share of the estimated costs as soon as the assessment notices have been received. The assessment notices were sent to all States Parties on 13 February 2017.
• African Parliamentary Workshop on the BWC in Sierra Leone – On 27 March, the Chief of the Implementation Support Unit participated via video-link in a Regional Africa Parliamentary Workshop to Promote Ratification and Implementation of the BWC. The workshop took place in the House of Parliament in Freetown, Sierra Leone and was organized by Parliamentarians for Global Action with financial support from Canada. Prominent legislators and several Government officials from the following countries participated in the workshop: Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Tanzania.
• Letter from the Depositaries to the BWC – The Depositaries of the BWC have requested the BWC ISU to transmit a letter concerning this year’s assessed contributions to the Convention. Information about the status of contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of this document (status as of 28 February 2017).
• A report on the Eighth Review Conference – The Harvard Sussex Program on Chemical and Biological Weapons has published a report entitled The BTWC Eighth Review Conference: A Disappointing Outcome.
• BWC Newsletter 2/2017 – The BWC Implementation Support Unit has prepared a new issue of the BWC newsletter in line with its mandate to facilitate communication among States Parties and to serve as a focal point for the sharing of information related to the BWC. Comments and feedback are welcome and should be sent to bwc@unog.ch.
• Status of contributions – The Financial Resources Management Service of the United Nations Office at Geneva has provided a summary of the financial contributions to the four disarmament conventions, as of 28 February 2017. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document The Eighth BWC Review Conference in November 2016 requested States Parties to proceed with the payment of their share of the estimated costs as soon as the assessment notices have been received. The assessment notices were sent to all States Parties on 13 February 2017.
• BWC Newsletter 1/2017 – The BWC Implementation Support Unit has prepared this brief newsletter in line with its mandate to facilitate communication among States Parties and to serve as a focal point for the sharing of information related to the BWC. It provides an overview of BWC-related issues and upcoming events. This newsletter will be published periodically. Comments and feedback are welcome and should be sent to bwc@unog.ch.