Biological Weapons Convention (BWC)

The use of chemical and biological weapons in war was prohibited in 1925 as a result of universal abhorrence at their effects on First World War soldiers. The 1972 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their destruction (BWC), which entered into force in 1975, prohibited the development, production, stockpiling or acquisition of biological and toxin weapons and required the destruction or conversion of such weapons or delivery means. At time of writing, the BWC has 153 states parties. A further 16 have signed but not ratified, while 25 remain outside the treaty.

The BWC broke new ground in establishing a non-discriminatory prohibition regime, making no distinction between states with existing BW programmes and those without, and explicitly building on the 1925 prohibition on use. However, it contained no provisions for the monitoring or verification of compliance or implementation.

The end of the cold war provided the opportunity to negotiate a verification protocol, but in 2001, after six years of painstaking technical and diplomatic work, negotiations collapsed without agreement after the United States first weakened the verification provisions and then scuppered agreement on the Protocol, arguing that verification would be inadequate and overly intrusive.

Coverage in Disarmament Diplomacy

• The Relevance of Gender for Eliminating Weapons of Mass Destruction, Carol Cohn with Felicity Hill and Sara Ruddick, Disarmament Diplomacy, Issue No. 80, Autumn 2005
• Security Council Resolution 1540: WMD and Non-state Trafficking, by Merav Datan, Disarmament Diplomacy, Issue No. 79, April/May 2005
• Strengthening the BWC: A Way Forward, by Jonathan B. Tucker, Disarmament Diplomacy, Issue No. 78, July/August 2004
• The Challenge of Biological Weapons: Proposals for Greater EU Effectiveness, by Ulla Jasper, Disarmament Diplomacy, Issue No. 78, July/August 2004
• Enforcing WMD Treaties: Consolidating a UN Role, by Barbara Hatch Rosenberg, Disarmament Diplomacy, Issue No. 75, January/February 2004
• Building on the Experience: Lessons from UNSCOM and UNMOVIC, by Terrence Taylor, January/February 2004
• BWC Meeting Adopts Minimal Report, In the News, December 2003
• Substance Hidden Under A Mountain Of Paper: The BWC Experts' Meeting In 2003, by Jez Littlewood, Disarmament Diplomacy, Issue No.73, October - November 2003
• Biological Disarmament Diplomacy in The Doldrums: Reflections After The BWC Fifth Review Conference, by Nicholas A. Sims, Disarmament Diplomacy, Issue No.70, April - May 2003
• BWC Special Paper No. 1, January 2003: Defending Against Biodefence: The Need for Limits, By Barbara Hatch Rosenberg
  Appendix: Draft Recommendations for A Code of Conduct for Biodefence Programmes
• Waiting for Godot or Saving The Show? The BWC Review Conference Reaches Modest Agreement, by Marie Isabelle Chevrier, Disarmament Diplomacy, No. 68, December - January 2003
• Preventing Terrorist Access to Dangerous Pathogens: The Need for International Biosecurity Standards, By Jonathan B. Tucker, Disarmament Diplomacy No.66, September 2002
• Australia Group Adopts New CBW Export Control Guidelines, News Review, Disarmament Diplomacy No.66, September 2002

BWC Statements and Documents

• Biological Weapons Convention Expert Meeting, June 13 - 24, 2005
• 2004 Meeting of States parties to the Biological Weapons Convention, December 10, 2004
• Biological Weapons Convention Experts meeting, 19-30 July, 2004
• Biannual CIA Report on WMD Proliferation, January 7
• Challenging 'the Very Existence of WMD': Speech by Jayantha Dhanapala, December 3
• US Reportedly Seeks Shutdown of BWC Debate
• Red Cross Launches Biotechnology Appeal
• John Bolton Speech on BWC & Roundtable on Arms Control, Tokyo, August 26/27
  • I. Speech on BWC, August 27
  • II. Roundtable on Arms Control, August 26
• Australia Group Agrees New CBW Export Control Measures, June 6
• Synthetic Virus Raises BW Concerns
• US Fact Sheet on BWC, May 22
• UK Green Paper on BWC, April 29

Biological Weapons Convention Review Conference, November 19 - December 7, 2001

• Left in Limbo: Review Conference Suspended On Edge of Collapse
  by Jenni Rissanen
• Appendix: Draft Final Declaration

For background to the 2001 Review Conference and the negotiations on a protocol to the BWC, please see our BWC archive page.

Useful Information and Links

• UN Department of Disarmament Affairs, for text of the BWC, relevant UN General Assembly resolutions, and official documentation from the previous Review Conference in December 1996
• Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford, for extensive background information and research on Biological Weapons

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© 2003 The Acronym Institute.