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88-507: The Biological Weapons Convention ( BWC ), or Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention ( BTWC ), is a disarmament treaty that effectively bans biological and toxin weapons by prohibiting their development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use. The treaty's full name is the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction. Having entered into force on 26 March 1975,

176-641: A 210-page draft protocol was circulated by the chairman of the Ad Hoc Group, which attempted to resolve the contested issues. However, at the 24th session of the Ad Hoc Group in July 2001 the George W. Bush administration rejected both the draft protocol circulated by the Group's Chairman and the entire approach on which the draft was based, resulting in the collapse of the negotiation process. To justify its decision,

264-483: A British expert on biological warfare and participant in the visits arranged under the Trilateral Agreement, concluded that, on the one hand, the agreement "was a significant achievement" in that it "provided evidence of Soviet non-compliance from 1975 to 1991"; on the other hand, Kelly noted that the Trilateral Agreement "failed dramatically" because Russia did not "acknowledge and fully account for either

352-523: A Working Group on strengthening the Convention, which aims to address among other issues, measures on verification and compliance. A number of BWC States Parties have been accused of breaching the convention's obligations by developing or producing biological weapons. Because of the intense secrecy around biological weapons programs, it is challenging to assess the actual scope of biological activities and whether they are legitimate defensive programs or

440-606: A background in human sciences, Lentzos obtained a PhD in sociology from the University of Nottingham , England. She then spent 10 years as a researcher at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) before joining the Department of Global Health & Social Medicine at King's College London in 2012. In 2017, she became cross-appointed to King’s Department of War Studies. Lentzos' research focuses on

528-708: A breach of treaty obligations by another state. Moreover, the article requires states to cooperate with any investigation which the Security Council may launch. There is a general unwillingness to invoke Article VI due to the highly political nature of the Security Council, where the five permanent members —China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—hold veto power, including over investigations for alleged treaty violations. One formal complaint pursuant to Article VI has been lodged by

616-592: A convention on biological weapons. The negotiations gained further momentum when the United States decided to unilaterally end its offensive biological weapons program in 1969 and support the British proposal. In March 1971, the Soviet Union and its allies reversed their earlier opposition to the separation of chemical and biological weapons and tabled their own draft convention. The final negotiation stage

704-518: A formal consultative meeting to consider its allegations that the United States introduced the crop-eating insect Thrips palmi to Cuba via crop-spraying planes in October 1996. Cuba and the United States presented evidence for their diverging views on the incident in a formal consultation in August 1997. Having reviewed the evidence, twelve States Parties submitted reports, of which nine concluded that

792-421: A new term to cover such cases has become fashionable since the 1960s, namely, arms control." Filippa Lentzos Filippa Lentzos is a Norwegian social scientist researching threats posed by biological agents . She is a senior research fellow at King's College London , holding a joint appointment in the Department of Global Health & Social Medicine and the Department of War Studies. Lentzos also holds

880-455: A strong global norm against biological weapons. This norm is reflected in the treaty's preamble, which states that the use of biological weapons would be "repugnant to the conscience of mankind". It is also demonstrated by the fact that not a single state today declares to possess or seek biological weapons, or asserts that their use in war is legitimate. In light of the rapid advances in biotechnology, biodefense expert Daniel Gerstein has described

968-520: A verification protocol have been repeatedly voiced. For instance, during the 2019 Meeting of Experts "several States Parties stressed the urgency of resuming multilateral negotiations aimed at concluding a non-discriminatory, legally-binding instrument dealing with (...) verification measures". However, since "some States Parties did not support the negotiation of a protocol to the BWC" it seems "neither realistic nor practicable to return to negotiations". Notably,

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1056-470: A verification system. This organization would employ inspectors who would regularly visit declared biological facilities on-site and could also investigate specific suspect facilities and activities. Nonetheless, states found it difficult to agree on several fundamental issues, including export controls and the scope of on-site visits. By early 2001, the "rolling text" of the draft protocol still contained many areas on which views diverged widely. In March 2001,

1144-583: A violation of the Convention—except for a few cases with an abundance of evidence for offensive development of biological weapons. Despite being a party and depositary to the BWC, the Soviet Union has operated the world's largest, longest, and most sophisticated biological weapons program, which goes back to the 1920s under the Red Army . Around the time when the BWC negotiations were finalized, and

1232-420: Is in violation of its obligation under Articles I and II of the BWC. The issue of compliance by Russia with the BWC has been of concern for many years". Starting around 1985 under Saddam Hussein 's leadership, Iraq weaponized anthrax , botulinum toxin , aflatoxin , and other agents, and created delivery vehicles, including bombs, missile warheads, aerosol generators, and spray systems. Thereby, Iraq breached

1320-544: Is in violation of its obligations under Articles I and II of the BWC" and that Iran "has not abandoned its (...) development of biological agents and toxins for offensive purposes". In recent years, Russia has repeatedly alleged that the United States is supporting and operating biological weapons facilities in the Caucasus and Central Asia, in particular the Richard Lugar Center for Public Health Research in

1408-836: Is known as the general-purpose criterion and is also used in Article II, 1 of the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The general-purpose criterion covers all hostile uses of biological agents, including those developed in the future, and recognizes that biological agents and toxins are inherently dual use . While these agents may be employed for nefarious ends, they also have several legitimate peaceful purposes, including developing medicines and vaccines to counter natural or deliberate disease outbreaks. Against this background, Article I only considers illegitimate those types and quantities of biological agents or toxins and their means of delivery which cannot be justified by prophylactic, protective, or other peaceful purposes; regardless of whether

1496-730: Is no longer to be a goal without means of achieving it, without means of verifying its progress, without means of keeping the peace. It is now a realistic plan, and a test – a test of those only willing to talk and a test of those willing to act. Major nuclear disarmament groups include Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament , Greenpeace and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War . There have been many large anti-nuclear demonstrations and protests . On June 12, 1982, one million people demonstrated in New York City's Central Park against nuclear weapons and for an end to

1584-448: Is to provide administrative support, assist the national implementation of the BWC, encourage the treaty's universal adoption, pair assistance requests and offers, and oversee the confidence-building measures process. The ISU was initially composed of three full-time staff with a budget smaller than the average McDonald's restaurant, and does not compare with the institutions established to deal with chemical or nuclear weapons. For example,

1672-559: Is unable to prevent systematic violations". Earlier drafts of the BWC included limited provisions for addressing compliance issues, but these were removed during the negotiation process. Some countries attempted to reintroduce these provisions when the BWC text was submitted to the General Assembly in 1971 but were unsuccessful, as were attempts led by Sweden at the First Review Conference in 1980. Following

1760-673: The Atomic Weapons Research Establishment close to Aldermaston in Berkshire , England, to demonstrate their opposition to nuclear weapons. The Aldermaston marches continued into the late 1960s when tens of thousands of people took part in the four-day marches. In 1961, US President John F. Kennedy gave a speech before the UN General Assembly where he announced the US "intention to challenge

1848-469: The Biden administration seems to reconsider the U.S. position on verification, as demonstrated by U.S. ambassador Bonnie Jenkins calling on the 2021 BWC Meeting of States Parties to "establish a new expert working group to examine possible measures to strengthen implementation of the Convention, increase transparency, and enhance assurance of compliance". In December 2022, States Parties decided to establish

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1936-699: The Cold War arms race . It was the largest anti-nuclear protest and the largest political demonstration in American history. Following decades of campaigning the New Zealand government banned nuclear-armed and powered ships from entering the country's territorial waters in 1984 with the ban later extended to cover land and airspace. The police disarmament movement is a political movement that advocates disarming police officers and law enforcement officers who regularly carry weaponry, such as those in

2024-510: The Federated States of Micronesia the most recent to become a party. Four states have signed but not ratified the treaty: Egypt , Haiti , Somalia , and Syria . Six additional states have neither signed nor acceded to the treaty: Chad , Comoros , Djibouti , Eritrea , Israel and Kiribati . For one of these ten states not party to the convention, the process of joining is well advanced, while an additional two states have started

2112-869: The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has about 500 employees, the International Atomic Energy Agency employs around 2,600 people, and the CTBTO Preparatory Commission employs around 280 staff. In December 2022, as a result of the Ninth Review Conference, States Parties decided to establish one new full-time staff position within the ISU, only for the period from 2023 to 2027. States Parties have formally reviewed

2200-502: The Treaty of Versailles effectively disarmed Germany, a clause was inserted that called on all the great powers to likewise progressively disarm over a period of time. The newly formed League of Nations made this an explicit goal in the covenant of the league , which committed its signatories to reduce armaments 'to the lowest point consistent with national safety and the enforcement by common action of international obligations'. One of

2288-615: The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research was launched in 2023. These concern the penal code, enforcement measures, import and export controls, biosafety and biosecurity measures, as well as domestic and international cooperation and assistance. For instance, the 1989 Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act implemented the Convention for the United States. A 2023 VERTIC report concluded that "gaps persist in States Parties' legal frameworks for implementing

2376-470: The United States (active from 1943 to 1969) and the Soviet Union (active from the 1920s until at least 1992). The American biowarfare system was terminated in 1969 by President Nixon when he issued his Statement on Chemical and Biological Defense Policies and Programs . The statement ended, unconditionally, all U.S. offensive biological weapons programs. When Nixon ended the program the budget

2464-405: The 1900s and has historically been championed by anarchists and libertarians alike. Proponents of police disarmament cite police brutality and militarization , safety and trust concerns, and the potential in other public safety apparatuses instead of armed police, as factors that make police disarmament ideal or necessary. Critics of police disarmament argue the concept is unrealistic, citing

2552-528: The 1925 Geneva Protocol , which prohibits the use but not the possession or development of chemical and biological weapons. Upon ratification of the Geneva Protocol, several countries made reservations regarding its applicability and use in retaliation. Due to these reservations, it was in practice a " no-first-use " agreement only. In particular, it did not prevent multiple states from starting and scaling offensive biological weapons programs, including

2640-463: The BWC after an unusual anthrax outbreak in 1979 in the Soviet city of Sverdlovsk (formerly, and now again, Yekaterinburg ) resulted in the deaths of approximately 65 to 100 people. The Soviet authorities blamed the outbreak on the consumption of contaminated meat and for years denied any connection between the incident and biological weapons research. However, investigations concluded that the outbreak

2728-482: The BWC as "the most important arms control treaty of the twenty-first century". However, the convention's effectiveness has been limited due to insufficient institutional support and the absence of any formal verification regime to monitor compliance. While the history of biological warfare goes back more than six centuries to the Siege of Caffa in 1346 CE, international restrictions on biological warfare began only with

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2816-622: The BWC failed in 2001, which would have resulted in a legally binding protocol to establish an Organization for the Prohibition of Biological Weapons (OPBW). Against this background, the Sixth Review Conference in 2006 created an Implementation Support Unit (ISU) funded by the States Parties to the BWC and housed in the Geneva Branch of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs . The unit's mandate

2904-508: The BWC is relatively short. Over time, the treaty has been interpreted and supplemented by additional politically binding agreements and understandings reached by its States Parties at eight subsequent Review Conferences. The remaining articles concern the BWC's compatibility with the 1925 Geneva Protocol (Article VIII), negotiations to prohibit chemical weapons (Article IX), amendments (Article XI), Review Conferences (Article XII), duration (Article XIII, 1), withdrawal (Article XIII, 2), joining

2992-413: The BWC was the first multilateral disarmament treaty to ban the production of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction . The convention is of unlimited duration. As of July 2024, 187 states have become party to the treaty . Four additional states have signed but not ratified the treaty, and another six states have neither signed nor acceded to the treaty. The BWC is considered to have established

3080-679: The BWC would be promptly addressed at a consultative meeting when requested by a State Party. These procedures were further elaborated by the Third Review Conference in 1991. Two formal consultative meetings have taken place, the first in 1997 at the request of Cuba, and the second in 2022 at the request of the Russian Federation. Article VI allows States Parties to lodge a complaint with the United Nations Security Council if they suspect

3168-534: The BWC's scope. While Article I does not explicitly prohibit the "use" of biological weapons as it was already considered to be prohibited by the 1925 Geneva Protocol , it is still regarded as a violation of the BWC, as reaffirmed by the final document of the Fourth Review Conference in 1996. Article III bans the transfer, encouragement, assistance, or inducement of anyone, whether governments or non-state actors, in developing or acquiring any of

3256-540: The BWC; to prevent access to biological agents for harmful purposes; and to detect and respond to the potential use of biological weapons. National implementing measures may take various forms, such as legislation, regulations, codes of conduct, and others. Which implementing measures are adequate for a state depends on several factors, including its legal system, its size and geography, the development of its biotechnology industry, and its participation in regional economic cooperation. Since no one set of measures fits all states,

3344-424: The Convention at the national level". The BWC's Implementation Support Unit issued a background information document on "strengthening national implementation" in 2018 and an update in 2019. Article V requires States Parties to consult one another and cooperate in disputes concerning the purpose or implementation of the BWC. The Second Review Conference in 1986 agreed on procedures to ensure that alleged violations of

3432-782: The NGO Coordinator for the Biological Weapons Convention, Lentzos has regularly delivered statements at the United Nations since 2017, in particular at the annual Meeting of States Parties, the Meeting of Experts and the First Committee of the UN General Assembly. The work of Lentzos has been featured in various media outlets, including the BBC, The New Yorker, The Economist, The Telegraph,

3520-642: The Republic of Georgia. The U.S. Department of State called these allegations "groundless" and reaffirmed that "all U.S. activities (...) [were] consistent with the obligations set forth in the Biological Weapons Convention". Biological weapons expert Filippa Lentzos agreed that the Russian allegations are "unfounded" and commented that they are "part of a disinformation campaign". Similarly, Swedish biodefense specialists Roger Roffey and Anna-Karin Tunemalm called

3608-595: The Russian Federation in 2022. Article VII obliges States Parties to provide assistance to states that so request it if the UN Security Council decides they have been exposed to danger as a result of a violation of the BWC. In addition to helping victims in the event of a biological weapons attack, the purpose of the article is to deter such attacks from occurring in the first place by reducing their potential for harm through international solidarity and assistance. Despite no state ever having invoked Article VII,

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3696-438: The Soviet Union, not to an arms race, but to a peace race – to advance together step by step, stage by stage, until general and complete disarmament has been achieved." He went on to call for a global general and complete disarmament, offering a rough outline for how this could be accomplished: The program to be presented to this assembly – for general and complete disarmament under effective international control – moves to bridge

3784-453: The UNSCOM investigations and only admitted to having operated an offensive biological weapons program under significant pressure in 1995. While Iraq maintained that it ended its biological weapons program in 1991, many analysts believe that the country violated its BWC obligations by continuing the program until at least 1996. In April 1997, Cuba invoked the provisions of Article V to request

3872-593: The United Kingdom, and the United States). Several countries made reservations when ratifying the BWC declaring that it did not imply their complete satisfaction that the treaty allows the stockpiling of biological agents and toxins for "prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes", nor should it imply recognition of other countries they do not recognize. At the Second Review Conference in 1986, BWC States Parties agreed to strengthen

3960-417: The United States . Proposed police disarmament methods range from simply emphasizing de-escalation and less-lethal alternatives over lethal force ; to limiting police access to firearms to specific units (such as police tactical units or authorised firearms officers ) or to when authorized or necessary; to defunding or replacing police with other systems of public safety . The concept dates back to

4048-504: The United States asserted that the protocol would not have improved BWC compliance and would have harmed U.S. national security and commercial interests. Many analysts, including Matthew Meselson and Amy Smithson, criticized the U.S. decision as undermining international efforts against non-proliferation and as contradicting U.S. government rhetoric regarding the alleged biological weapons threat posed by Iraq and other U.S. adversaries. In subsequent years, calls for restarting negotiations on

4136-571: The United States). There have been some concerned scientists who have called for the modernization of the BWC at the periodic Review Conferences. For example, Filippa Lentzos and Gregory Koblentz pointed out in 2016 that "crucial contemporary debates about new developments" for the BWC Review Conferences included " gain-of-function experiments , potential pandemic pathogens, CRISPR and other genome editing technologies, gene drives , and synthetic biology ". With only 15 articles,

4224-475: The agents in question affect humans, animals, or plants. A disadvantage of this intent-based approach is a blurring of the line between defensive and offensive biological weapons research. While it was initially unclear during the early negotiations of the BWC whether viruses would be regulated by it since they lie "at the edge of life"—they possess some but not all of the characteristics of life—viruses were defined as biological agents in 1969 and thus fall within

4312-524: The agents, toxins, weapons, equipment, or means of delivery specified in Article I. The article's objective is to prevent the proliferation of biological weapons by limiting the availability of materials and technology which may be used for hostile purposes. Article IV obliges BWC States Parties to implement the convention's provisions domestically. This is essential to allow national authorities to investigate, prosecute, and punish any activities prohibited by

4400-531: The allegations "a Russian propaganda tool". During the Russian invasion of Ukraine , the Russian Federation convened a Formal Consultative Meeting under Article V of the Convention to address outstanding questions concerning the operation of biological laboratories in Ukraine by the United States. The meeting did not reach a consensus. After a decade of negotiations, the major effort to institutionally strengthen

4488-591: The article has drawn more attention in recent years, in part due to increasing evidence of terrorist organizations being interested in acquiring biological weapons and also following various naturally occurring epidemics. In 2018, the BWC's Implementation Support Unit issued a background document describing a number of additional understandings and agreements on Article VII that have been reached at past Review Conferences. Article X protects States Parties' right to exchange biological materials, technology, and information to be used for peaceful purposes. The article states that

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4576-475: The big powers alone, not with one's adversary or one's self, but in an international organization within the framework of the United Nations. It would assure that indispensable condition of disarmament – true inspection – and apply it in stages proportionate to the stage of disarmament. It would cover delivery systems as well as weapons. It would ultimately halt their production as well as their testing, their transfer as well as their possession. It would achieve under

4664-455: The conference. Nuclear disarmament refers to both the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons and to the end state of a nuclear-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated. In the United Kingdom, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) held an inaugural public meeting at Central Hall, Westminster , on 17 February 1958, attended by five thousand people. After

4752-405: The convention's effective implementation. Agreement on such a system was not feasible at the time the BWC was negotiated, largely due to Cold War politics but also due to a belief it was not necessary and that the BWC would be difficult to verify. U.S. biological weapons expert Jonathan B. Tucker commented that "this lack of an enforcement mechanism has undermined the effectiveness of the BWC, as it

4840-429: The convention, depositary governments, and conditions for entry into force (Article XIV, 1–5), and languages (Article XV). Article I is the core of the BWC and requires each state "never in any circumstances to develop, produce, stockpile or otherwise acquire or retain: Article I does not prohibit any specific biological agents or toxins as such but rather certain purposes for which they may be employed. This prohibition

4928-564: The cooperation under Article X by including personnel training, information exchange, and the transfer of materials and equipment. 2. Bringing bioterrorism within the convention's scope by agreeing that it applies to all international, national and non-State actors and that it covers all relevant current and future scientific and technological developments. Disarmament At the Hague Peace Conferences in 1899 and 1907 government delegations debated about disarmament and

5016-462: The creation of an international court with binding powers. The court was considered necessary because it was understood that nation-states could not disarm into a vacuum. After World War I revulsion at the futility and tremendous cost of the war was widespread. A commonly held belief was that the cause of the war had been the escalating buildup of armaments in the previous half century among the great powers (see Anglo-German naval arms race ). Although

5104-535: The current CBM form requires states to provide information annually on six issues (CBM D was deleted by the Seventh Review Conference in 2011): While the number of CBM submissions has increased over time, the overall participation rate remains slightly above 50 percent. In 2018, an online CBM platform was launched to facilitate the electronic submission of CBM reports. An increasing number of states are making their CBM reports publicly available on

5192-567: The earliest successful achievements in disarmament was obtained with the Washington Naval Treaty . Signed by the governments of Great Britain, the United States, Japan, France, and Italy, it prevented the continued construction of capital ships and limited ships of other classification to under 10,000 tons displacement. The size of the three country's navies (the Royal Navy , United States Navy and Imperial Japanese Navy )

5280-527: The end of the Cold War , a long negotiation process to add a verification mechanism began in 1991, when the Third Review Conference established an expert group on verification, VEREX , with the mandate to identify and examine potential verification measures from a scientific and technical standpoint. During four meetings in 1992 and 1993, VEREX considered 21 verification measures , including inspections of facilities, monitoring relevant publications, and other on-site and off-site measures. Another stimulus came from

5368-744: The evidence did not support the Cuban allegations, and two (China and Vietnam) maintained it was inconclusive. At the Fifth BWC Review Conference in 2001, the United States charged four BWC States Parties— Iran , Iraq , Libya , and North Korea —and one signatory, Syria , with operating covert biological weapons programs. Moreover, a 2019 report from the U.S. Department of State raises concerns regarding BWC compliance in China , Russia , North Korea, and Iran. The report concluded that North Korea "has an offensive biological weapons program and

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5456-411: The eyes of an international disarmament organization, a steady reduction in force, both nuclear and conventional, until it has abolished all armies and all weapons except those needed for internal order and a new United Nations Peace Force. And it starts that process now, today, even as the talks begin. In short, general and complete disarmament must no longer be a slogan, used to resist the first steps. It

5544-486: The former Soviet programme or the biological weapons activities that it had inherited and continued to engage in". Milton Leitenberg and Raymond Zilinskas, authors of the 2012 book The Soviet Biological Weapons Program: A History , assert that Russia may still continue parts of the Soviet biological weapons program today. Similarly, as of 2021, the U.S. Department of State "assesses that the Russian Federation (Russia) maintains an offensive [biological weapons] program and

5632-409: The gap between those who insist on a gradual approach and those who talk only of the final and total achievement. It would create machinery to keep the peace as it destroys the machinery of war. It would proceed through balanced and safeguarded stages designed to give no state a military advantage over another. It would place the final responsibility for verification and control where it belongs, not with

5720-427: The implementation of specific obligations is left to States Parties' discretion, based on their assessment of what will best enable them to ensure compliance with the BWC. A database of over 1,500 laws and regulations that States Parties have enacted to implement the BWC domestically is maintained by the non-governmental organization VERTIC . A similar database on national implementation measures developed by VERTIC and

5808-430: The implementation of the BWC shall avoid hampering the economic or technological development of States Parties or peaceful international cooperation on biological projects. The Seventh Review Conference in 2011 established an Article X database, which matches voluntary requests and offers for assistance and cooperation among States Parties and international organizations. The BWC has 187 States Parties as of July 2024, with

5896-496: The information. After the Soviet Union's dissolution, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Russia concluded the Trilateral Agreement on 14 September 1992, reaffirming their commitment to full compliance with the BWC and declaring that Russia had eliminated its inherited offensive biological weapons program. The agreement's objective was to uncover details about the Soviet's biological weapons program and to verify that all related activities had truly been terminated. David Kelly ,

5984-460: The international governance of biological threats, especially in relation to the 1975 Biological Weapons Convention, an international treaty prohibiting the development, stockpiling, and use of biological weapons. She has published widely on biodefence, compliance assessment in the context of multilateral biological arms control efforts, and the governance of emerging life science technologies, such as synthetic biology and gene editing. In her role as

6072-691: The meaning, scope, and implementation of BWC provisions. These additional understandings are contained in the final documents of the Review Conferences and in an overview document prepared by the BWC Implementation Support Unit for the Eighth Review Conference in 2016. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the Ninth Review Conference originally scheduled for 2021 was postponed to 2022. 2. Elaboration of

6160-486: The meeting a few hundred left to demonstrate at Downing Street . CND's declared policies were the unconditional renunciation of the use, production of or dependence upon nuclear weapons by Britain and the bringing about of a general disarmament convention. The first Aldermaston March was organised by the CND and took place at Easter 1958, when several thousand people marched for four days from Trafalgar Square , London, to

6248-545: The need for police officers to defend themselves, the inability of unarmed public safety agents to effectively handle violent crime and terrorism , and the necessity of law enforcement to maintain society. In his definition of "disarmament", David Carlton writes in the Oxford University Press political dictionary, "But confidence in such measures of arms control, especially when unaccompanied by extensive means of verification, has not been strengthened by

6336-459: The operation of the BWC at periodic Review Conferences held every five years; the first took place in 1980. The objective of these conferences is to ensure the effective realization of the convention's goals and, in accordance with Article XII, to "take into account any new scientific and technological developments relevant to the Convention". Most Review Conferences have adopted additional understandings or agreements that have interpreted or elaborated

6424-452: The platform, but many reports remain only accessible to other states. The history and implementation of the CBM system have been described by the BWC Implementation Support Unit in a 2022 report to the Ninth Review Conference. Unlike the chemical or nuclear weapons regimes, the BWC lacks both a system to verify states' compliance with the treaty and a separate international organization to support

6512-775: The position of associate senior researcher at the Armament and Disarmament Programme at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Moreover, she is the NGO Coordinator for the Biological Weapons Convention since 2017, the biosecurity columnist at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 2018, and an associate editor of the social science journal BioSocieties . With

6600-590: The possibilities for the reduction of army size, met similar difficulties. However acting outside the League. French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand and US Secretary of State Frank Kellogg drafted a treaty known as the Kellogg–Briand Pact , which denounced war of aggression. There were 65 signatories to the pact, but it set out no guidelines for action in the event of a war. It was in 1946 used to convict and execute Nazi leaders of war crimes. A final attempt

6688-649: The process. The BWC's degree of universality remains low compared to other weapons of mass destruction regimes, including the Chemical Weapons Convention with 193 parties and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons with 191 parties. States can join the BWC through either ratification , accession or succession , in accordance with their national constitutional processes, which often require parliamentary approval. Ratification applies to states which had previously signed

6776-624: The provisions of the BWC, which it had signed in 1972, although it only ratified the Convention in 1991 as a condition of the cease-fire agreement that ended the 1991 Gulf War . The Iraqi biological weapons program—along with its chemical weapons program —was uncovered after the Gulf War through the investigations of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), which was responsible for disarmament in post-war Iraq. Iraq deliberately obstructed, delayed, and deceived

6864-462: The revelation that the Soviet Union in its last years successfully concealed consistent and systematic cheating on its obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention ." He also notes, "Now a freeze or a mutually agreed increase is not strictly speaking disarmament at all. And such measures may not even be intended to be a first step towards any kind of reduction or abolition. For the aim may simply be to promote stability in force structures. Hence

6952-524: The successful negotiation of the Chemical Weapons Convention , which opened for signature in 1993. Subsequently, a Special Conference of BWC States Parties in 1994 considered the VEREX report and decided to establish an Ad Hoc Group to negotiate a legally-binding verification protocol. The Ad Hoc Group convened 24 sessions between 1995 and 2001, during which it negotiated a draft protocol to the BWC which would establish an international organization and introduce

7040-443: The treaty before it entered into force in 1975. Since then, signing the treaty is no longer possible, but states can accede to it. Succession concerns newly independent states that accept to be bound by a treaty that the predecessor state had joined. The Convention enters into force on the date when an instrument of ratification, accession, or succession is deposited with at least one of the depositary governments (the Russian Federation,

7128-495: The treaty by exchanging annual confidence-building measures (CBMs). These politically binding reports aim to prevent or reduce the occurrence of ambiguities, doubts and suspicions, and at improving international cooperation on peaceful biological activities. CBMs are the main formal mechanism through which States Parties regularly exchange compliance-related information. After revisions by the Third, Sixth, and Seventh Review Conferences,

7216-621: The treaty was signed in the early 1970s, the Soviet Union significantly expanded its covert biological weapons program under the oversight of the "civilian" institution Biopreparat within the Soviet Ministry of Health. The Soviet program employed up to 65,000 people in several hundred facilities and successfully weaponized several pathogens, such as those responsible for smallpox , tularemia , bubonic plague , influenza , anthrax , glanders , and Marburg fever . The Soviet Union first drew much suspicion of violating its obligations under

7304-578: Was $ 300 million annually. The BWC sought to supplement the Geneva Protocol and was negotiated in the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament in Geneva from 1969 to 1972, following the conclusion of the negotiation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons . Of significance was a 1968 British proposal to separate consideration of chemical and biological weapons and to first negotiate

7392-511: Was assembled in 1923 that made aggressive war illegal and bound the member states to defend victims of aggression by force. Since the onus of responsibility would, in practice, be on the great powers of the League, it was opposed by the First MacDonald ministry of the British government, whose opposition to the treaty, made official on 5 July 1924, "effectively buried the proposal for good." Another commission in 1926, set up to explore

7480-596: Was caused by an accident at a nearby military microbiology facility, resulting in the escape of an aerosol of anthrax pathogen. Supporting this finding, Russian President Boris Yeltsin later admitted that "our military developments were the cause". Western concerns about Soviet compliance with the BWC increased during the late 1980s and were supported by information provided by several defectors, including Vladimir Pasechnik and Ken Alibek . American President George H. W. Bush and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher therefore directly challenged President Gorbachev with

7568-683: Was made at the Geneva Disarmament Conference from 1932 to 1937, chaired by former British Foreign Secretary Arthur Henderson . Germany demanded the revision of the Versailles Treaty and the granting of military parity with the other powers, while France was determined to keep Germany demilitarised for its own security. Meanwhile, the British and Americans were not willing to offer France security commitments in exchange for conciliation with Germany. The talks broke down in 1933, when Adolf Hitler withdrew Germany from

7656-455: Was reached when the United States and the Soviet Union submitted identical but separate drafts of the BWC text on 5 August 1971. The BWC was opened for signature on 10 April 1972 with ceremonies in London, Moscow, and Washington, D.C., and it entered into force on 26 March 1975 after the ratification by 22 states, including its three depositary governments (the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and

7744-491: Was set at the ratio 5-5-3. In 1921, the Temporary Mixed Commission on Armaments was set up by the League of Nations to explore possibilities for disarmament. It was made up not of government representatives but of famous individuals who rarely agreed. Proposals ranged from abolishing chemical warfare and strategic bombing to the limitation of more conventional weapons, such as tanks. A draft treaty

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