Disarmament in Review
From 23 to 25 January 2024, in Brisbane, Australia, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) organized a regional workshop on achieving the universalization of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in the Pacific. The workshop was organized with the support of the European Union and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of Australia.
With 185 States Parties and four signatory States, the BWC has almost reached universal adherence. In order to establish and uphold a strong global norm against the use of biological weapons to harm or kill humans, animals or plants, it is important to have as many States join the Convention as possible. In the Pacific region, there are currently three States which have not yet joined the Convention, namely the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati and Tuvalu. Two of these, namely Kiribati and Tuvalu, participated in the workshop.
The workshop, was opened by H.E. Ms. Vanessa Wood, Ambassador for Arms Control and Counter-Proliferation from DFAT Australia and Mr. Daniel Feakes, Chief of the BWC Implementation Support Unit. Dr. Erja Askola, Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Pacific (based in Fiji), provided opening remarks through a pre-recorded video message. Two BWC depositary governments provided video messages, H.E. Mr. Aidan Liddle, Ambassador to the Conference of Disarmament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Mr. Johnathan T. Beckett, Sr., Deputy Special Representative for the Biological Weapons Convention of the United States.
During the workshop, presentations were given by UNODA on the benefits and responsibilities deriving from the BWC, the necessary legal procedures for joining it, the key aspects of national implementation as well as the role of BWC national contact points.
Representatives from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Samoa also participated in the workshop and shared best practices and lessons learned with regard to joining and implementing the Convention at the national level, thus facilitating regional dialogue on the BWC.
In addition, UNODA’s UNSCR 1540 Regional Coordinator for Asia, Ms. Amanda Cowl, made a presentation on the synergies between the BWC and Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) through a pre-recorded video message and an expert from the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness talked about the role of laboratories as well as the “One Health” approach to biothreats. Additional presentations were provided by representatives from civil society, including on the BWC in the regional context, and on the UNIDIR/VERTIC BWC National Implementation Database and VERTIC’s legislative assistance tools.
The regional workshop not only provided a valuable opportunity to re-engage with Kiribati and Tuvalu on universalization, but also to facilitate intra-regional dialogue and exchanges of best practices and to map further regional needs and potential assistance opportunities. UNODA will continue to work closely with States interested in joining the BWC and is hopeful that significant progress can be made regarding universalization before the fiftieth anniversary of the Convention in 2025.
