News from 2021

• 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 December 2021.
• Regional workshop on national implementing legislation – on 2 December 2021, the Implementation Support Unit (ISU) of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) conducted an online workshop for Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States on national implementing legislation under the Convention. Experts from the ISU, VERTIC, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the Group of Experts of the 1540 Committee and the Organization of America States spoke at the event.
• 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 2021.
• 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 2021.
• Regional CBM workshop – On 26 October 2021, the Implementation Support Unit (ISU) of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) held an online workshop focused on Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs) for Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States Member. Experts from the ISU, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), Kenya and Switzerland highlighted the role of CBMs under the BWC and shared best practices.
• 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 2021.
• Regional workshop on the BWC – On 27 September, the Implementation Support Unit (ISU) of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) held a workshop to strengthen the implementation of the Convention in G5 Sahel Member States Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger. The event was organized in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)and the Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology (IMB).  Speakers from the ISU, the German Federal Foreign Office, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDC), GIZ as well as from the region discussed issues of biosafety and biosecurity and ways to enhance the implementation of the Convention in the region.
• National Implementation Project launched – On 16 September 2021, the Implementation Support Unit (ISU) of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) launched a new project for Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States on national implementing legislation under the Convention. The project is funded by the United Kingdom aimed at strengthening national implementation of the BWC in the region. Upon an introduction of the project by the ISU, experts from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Organisation of American States (OAS), and the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) reflected on the project’s synergies with other initiatives and opportunities for collaboration.
• 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 2021.
• National CBM Workshop held – On 23 August 2021, the Implementation Support Unit (ISU) of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), the Malian Directorate of Military Engineering and the Malian National Institute of Public Health (INSP) co-hosted an online workshop on Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs) under the BWC. Experts from the ISU, Kenya and Mali shared best practices on national implementation measures and compiling CBM reports.
• 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 2021.
• Practical arrangements for the MXs – On 16 July, the ISU sent a letter including an Aide-Mémoire to all States Parties providing information on the practical arrangements for the upcoming Meetings of Experts.
• Letter from the Chair about the MXs – On 15 July, the Chairperson of the Meeting of States Parties (MSP), Ambassador Cleopa K. Mailu of Kenya, sent a letter to all States Parties about the prevailing circumstances and modalities of the MXs which will take place from 30 August to 8 September in Geneva.
• BWC Newsletter issued – The Newsletter is available here. It is outlining activities undertaken in the second quarter of 2021 by the BWC team, as well as related news, such as financial updates, staff news or useful publications and links. Do not hesitate to contact the BWC ISU at bwc@un.org if you have any comments, questions, or wish to be added in the BWC Newsletter mailing list.
• 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 2021.
• On 27 May, the Implementation Support Unit, in cooperation with the Disarmament Impact Group of the International Gender Champions, will co-organize an interactive discussion on the relevance of gender perspectives to the implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention. The discussion will address recent initiatives to improve women’s meaningful participation in the BWC, as well as research on sex-specific and gendered impacts of biological weapons. Panelists will take stock of how gender perspectives are already being incorporated into BWC discussions and, in view of the forthcoming Ninth BWC Review Conference, how they can be further promoted and strengthened in future BWC work programmes. The event will also mark the launch of a new factsheet by the Disarmament Impact Group on “Gender and Biological Weapons”.
• 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 2021.
• BWC Newsletter issued – The Newsletter is available here. It is outlining activities undertaken in the first quarter of 2021 by the BWC team, as well as related news, such as financial updates, staff news or useful publications and links. Do not hesitate to contact the BWC ISU at bwc@un.org if you have any comments, questions, or wish to be added in the BWC Newsletter mailing list.
• National CBM workshop – On 1 April 2021, the Implementation Support Unit (ISU) of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and Kenya’s National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI) co-hosted an online workshop on confidence-building measures under the BWC. Experts from the BWC Implementation Support Unit and NACOSTI spoke with counterparts from South Africa and Switzerland about the role of CBMs under the BWC.
• 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 2021.
• 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 2021.
• Revised schedule for BWC meetings in 2021 – States Parties to the BWC have agreed to new dates for the meetings which had been due to take place in 2020 but which had to be postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The revised schedule was announced in a letter from the Chairperson of the Meeting of States Parties, Ambassador Cleopa K Mailu of Kenya, and sees the Meetings of Experts taking place from 30 August to 8 September and the Meeting of States Parties taking place from 22 to 25 November. All meetings will take place in Geneva.
• 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 January 2021.
• BWC Newsletter issued – The Newsletter is available here. It is outlining activities undertaken in 2020 by the BWC team, as well as related news, such as financial updates, staff news or useful publications and links. Do not hesitate to contact the BWC ISU at bwc@un.org if you have any comments, questions, or wish to be added in the BWC Newsletter mailing list.
• 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 December 2020.