Commentary

Modest Progress at the Sixth Review Conference

Posted by Alan Pearson at 7:19 am on December 11, 2006

The experts will be assessing the outcome of the Sixth Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) for weeks, months, even years to come.  For now, having mulled over its Final Outcome document, I’ll stick with our assessment that the Conference is best described as a “modest success.” 
Very modest. 
That success might best […]

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Draft Final Document Now Available

Posted by John Pruett at 7:59 pm on December 8, 2006

The Sixth Review Conference has just publicly released an Informal Advance Copy of the Final Document via the United Nations Office at Geneva’s website.

Our press release on the Review Conference can be found here.
Further analysis will be forthcoming soon.

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Review Conference Outcome Takes Shape… and Teeters on the Edge of Success

Posted by Alan Pearson at 7:01 pm on December 7, 2006

As the second to last day of the Sixth Review Conference heads into evening meetings, some aspects of the final outcome are becoming clear.  But deep disagreements over the promotion of peaceful cooperation and scientific and technological exchange remain unresolved.  These disagreements threaten to render the next inter-sessional process ineffectual.
As best as can be determined […]

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The Final Stretch

Posted by Alan Pearson at 2:53 pm on December 5, 2006

The Review Conference has entered the final stretch – and evening meetings are now on the schedule.  The amount of information coming out from behind the closed doors is decreasing, but what information there is suggests that negotiations remain intense.
“Article X remains the key outstanding issue that divides States Parties” writes the BioWeapons Prevention Project […]

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Entering Week 3 – Bridging the North/South Divide

Posted by Alan Pearson at 3:55 am on December 4, 2006

As the BWC Review Conference ended its second week, negotiators face increasing pressure to arrive at a final outcome that all can accept. A draft final declaration now exists, and negotiations will henceforth focus on specific highlighted problem areas within the text. Reports are that many such problem areas exist, but two stand […]

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Does the U.S. Have a New Biological Weapon Control Policy?

Posted by Alan Pearson at 6:45 pm on December 1, 2006

John Gilbert, a senior fellow at the Center for Arms Control and a member of our Scientists Working Group on Biological and Chemical Weapons wants to know the answer to this question.  He writes:
Last week (on November 24, 2006), the U.S. Government tabled a paper at the BWC Review Conference titled “Confronting Noncompliance with the […]

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