News from 2019

• 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 at 30 November 2019. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document.
• Global Forum on Science & Technology – On 2 December, the day prior to the opening of the 2019 Meeting of States Parties, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and the United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) will host the Second Annual Global Forum on Scientific Advances Important to the BWC. This event will feature expert panel and speaker discussions on current and future biological capabilities with relevance to the BWC and biological weapons. The speakers will highlight both the potential for misuse and opportunities to leverage these capabilities to improve efforts to prevent biological weapons development and strengthen disarmament norms. The event will be open to all who have registered for the 2019 Meeting of States Parties. More information and details about the event are available 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 at 31 October 2019. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document.
• Joint statement on financial issues – On 30 October, the Chairman of the Meeting of States Parties, Ambassador Yann Hwang of France, delivered a joint statement to the First Committee of the General Assembly on behalf of the Chairs of the four disarmament conventions hosted by the United Nations Office at Geneva. The joint statement addressed the financial situation of the four conventions (APLC, BWC, CCM and CCW).
• 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 at 30 September 2019. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document.
• 2020 scale of assessments – The Financial Resources Management Service (FRMS) of the United Nations Office at Geneva has provided the preliminary assessment per State Party for contributions to the BWC budget for the year 2020. Formal invoices for 2020 are being sent to all BWC States Parties in the coming days. States Parties in a position to do so are requested to proceed with the payment of their assessed contributions for 2020 as soon as the invoices are received. FRMS has also provided information on the closing of the 2018 financial accounts.
• Letter from the Chair about MSP preparations – On 4 September, the Chairman of the Meeting of States Parties (MSP), Ambassador Yann Hwang of France, sent a letter to all States Parties about preparations for the MSP which will take place from 3 to 6 December in Geneva. Drafts of the provisional agenda and the provisional programme of work for the MSP are attached to the letter. A courtesy English translation is also attached.
• 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 at 31 August 2019. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document.
• United Republic of Tanzania – The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has informed the ISU that the United Republic of Tanzania deposited its instrument of ratification to the BWC in London on 14 August 2019. As of this date, the United Republic of Tanzania is therefore the 183rd State Party to the Convention.
• Possibility of cash payment for small outstanding receivables – on 14 August 2019, the Chief of Financial Resources Management Services at the United Nations Office at Geneva wrote a letter to all Permanent Missions in Geneva concerning the possibility to settle small outstanding receivables due under the disarmament conventions by cash payment at the UBS Branch in the Palais des Nations.
• 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 at 31 July 2019. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document.
• Meetings of Experts underway – The 2019 BWC Meetings of Experts opened in Geneva on 29 July 2019. The five back-to-back meetings will conclude on 8 August. For more information and all official documentation, see the main webpage for the Meetings of Experts.
• 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 at 30 June 2019. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document.
• Workshop on advances in Biotechnology – The BWC ISU will be co-hosting with the Permanent Mission of Romania a workshop on “Advances in biotechnology and preventing their misuse in the context of the 2030 Agenda”, on 17 June 2019, from 15:00 to 18:00 at the Palais des Nations (Room XIV). The programme is available 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 at 31 May 2019. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document.
• Registration for the Meetings of Experts – On 3 June, the ISU opened online registration for the Meetings of Experts that will take place in Geneva from 29 July to 8 August. Those wishing to attend the Meetings of Experts who do not already have access to the Palais des Nations need to register online. More information about the Meetings of Experts is also available.
• ISU letter on National Contact Points – On 23 May 2019, the ISU sent a letter requesting updated National Contact Point information to the Permanent Representatives of BWC States Parties, as well as to existing NCPs. A copy of the letter is available here.
• BWC Seminar – On 16 April the BWC ISU organized a workshop on “Rapid International Response to Biological Incidents: Lessons for the BWC”, which was hosted by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP). The seminar was funded through a voluntary contribution by the Government of Japan to the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) for implementation of a project on “Strengthening National, Sub-Regional, and International Capacities to Prepare for and Respond to Deliberate Use of Biological Weapons”. More than 70 participants attended the event. The seminar report including the presentations can be accessed here.
• BWC Working Capital Fund – On 7 May 2019, the Director of the Geneva Branch of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, Ms. Anja Kaspersen, wrote a letter to all BWC States Parties notifying them of the formal establishment of the BWC Working Capital Fund, as agreed by the 2018 Meeting of States Parties.
• 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 at 30 April 2019. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document.
• 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 at 31 March 2019. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document.
• 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 at 28 February 2019. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document.
• 2019 BWC MSP Chair writes to States Parties – On 11 March, the Chairman of the 2019 BWC Meeting of States Parties, Ambassador Yann Hwang of France, wrote a letter to all States Parties and Signatory States setting out his initial views on the programme for 2019. A courtesy translation in English is annexed to the letter.
• BWC 2019 Meetings of Experts Sponsorship Programme – On 11 March 2019, the Chief of the Implementation Support Unit, Mr. Daniel Feakes, wrote a letter to all States Parties, Signatory States and States not party to the BWC informing them about the launch of the Sponsorship Programme to support participation by experts from developing countries in the 2019 Meetings of Experts.
• 2018 MSP Chair’s letter on financial measures – On 31 January, the Chairman of the 2018 Meeting of States Parties, Mr. Ljupčo Jivan Gjorgjinski of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, sent a letter to the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs and the United Nations Office at Geneva. The letter provides additional clarification to assist the United Nations in understanding the intent of States Parties and to facilitate implementation of the financial measures approved by the 2018 Meeting of States Parties.
• ISU sends out CBM reminder letter – On 23 January, the ISU sent a reminder letter to States Parties that the deadline for the submission of Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs) covering calendar year 2018 is 15 April 2019.
• 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 at 1 January 2019. Detailed information pertaining to the contributions to the BWC is contained in Annex II of the document.