High-level parliamentarians from the Union of Comoros visit the United Nations in Geneva to examine steps towards joining the Biological Weapons Convention

March 28th, 2023

On 15 and 16 March 2023, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) hosted a high-level parliamentary delegation from the Union of Comoros at its offices in Geneva. This first-of-its-kind visit is part of UNODA’s efforts to promote the universalization of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in Africa. To date, six African States, including the Union of Comoros, are not yet parties to the Convention

The two-day visit began with a meeting with Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, who highlighted the important contribution the BWC makes to international peace and security and the need to achieve universalization. The delegation of the Union of Comoros, composed of two vice-presidents of the Comorian National Assembly, then met with ambassadors and permanent representatives of two BWC depository governments, the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as permanent representatives of Côte d’Ivoire, France, Italy, Morocco, and the European Union. These high-level bilateral meetings, as well as presentations by UNODA staff, were a unique opportunity for the delegation to be briefed on the substance and relevance of the Convention and to learn about international and regional cooperation to support States that have joined the Convention. The parliamentarians also attended the first meeting of the BWC Working Group on Strengthening the Convention as observers, which took place at the same time as their visit.  

Meeting between the delegation of the Union of Comoros and Ms. Tatiana VALOVAYA, Director-General of the United Nations in Geneva
Meeting between the delegation of the Union of Comoros and H.E. Mr. Kouadio ADJOUMANI, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Cote d’Ivoire to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva

“With the recent accessions of Namibia and South Sudan, there is strong momentum for the universalization of the Convention in Africa,” the Chief of Service of UNODA’s Geneva Office, Mélanie Régimbal, told the delegation. If Comoros were to accede to the BWC, that would represent a vital step towards achieving that goal. She added that Comoros, as the current chair of the African Union, has the additional unique opportunity “to strengthen this momentum and promote the key contributions of the BWC to peace, security and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. 

Meeting between the delegation of the Union of Comoros and H.E. Mr. Kenneth D. WARD, Ambassador and US Special Representative for the Biological Weapons Convention

Meeting between the delegation of the Union of Comoros and H.E. Mr. Omar ZNIBER, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva

The visit took place within the framework of a four-year project that UNODA is currently implementing with funding from the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction. More information is available here.