Biological Weapons Convention Review Conference

Statement by Donald Lowitz to the Second Biological Weapons Convention Review Conference, cited in UN Press Release DC/2035 of 9 September 1986. 

Final Document of the (first) Review Conference of the Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention. UN Document BWC/CONF1/10,21 March 1980. 

United Nations, Second Review Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction, 8-26 September 1986, Final Declaration, BWC/CONF.II/13, Geneva, 1986 (available at http //www.opbw.org). 

Unfortunately, no Final Declaration was agreed by the 2001-2002 Review Conference of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and consequently the opportunity for such a consensus statement was missed. 

Fifth Review Conference of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention which stated ... 

Bioregulators the Emerging Scientific and Technological Issues Relating to Verification and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.29 This monograph was circulated to all states parties at the Review Conference. The issue of peptide bioregulators was also covered in some detail by the United States ... 

Since the war, Britain has categorically stated that she has never possessed any biological weapons. As recently as 1980, at the Review Conference of the Convention on Biological and Toxin Weapons, the British delegation firmly stated The United Kingdom has never possessed and has not acquired microbial or other biological agents and toxins in quantities which could be employed for weapon purposes. 38 On at least two other occasions in 1980- on 5 March and 11 March - the same assurance was repeated. 

See, for instance. Article Vtll, para 22 of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). For the CWC, with its supervisory organization the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the review conference mechanism is embedded in the powers and functions of the OPCW, namely in the role of the plenary body, the Conference of States Parties. Treaties without such supervisory bodies will be reviewed by the States Parties, see Article Xll of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC). 

SECOND REVIEW CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO THE CONVENTION ON THE PROHIBITION OF THE DEVELOPMENT, PRODUCTION AND STOCKPILING OF BACTERIOLOGICAL (BIOLOGICAL) AND TOXIN WEAPONS AND ON THEIR DESTRUCTION... 

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