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 […]
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.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Posted by Alan Pearson at 8:44 pm on November 29, 2006
The Chair of our Scientists Working Group on Biological and Chemical Weapons, Dr. Marie Chevrier, traveled to Geneva this week for a lunchtime seminar for BWC Conference delegates on strengthening the BWC by enhancing transparency (advert: we co-sponsored this seminar with the Hamburg Research Group for Biological Arms Control.) She has this to say […]
Posted by Alan Pearson at 8:20 pm on November 27, 2006
Between travel back to the United States, and the fact that news is slim now that the States Parties are firmly ensconced behind close doors, there has been less to report about the BWC RevCon in recent days – and family and friends to enjoy.
Still, in Europe they don’t do Thanksgiving (except presumably in the […]
Posted by Alan Pearson at 12:47 am on November 23, 2006
The doors were pulled shut on Tuesday afternoon as the BWC States Parties began their formal article-by-article review of the operation of the Convention. First, however, additional opening statements were presented by several member states. Various intergovernmental organizations made presentations as well.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) noted that “both the urgency […]
Posted by Alan Pearson at 1:11 am on November 21, 2006
The Sixth Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention began today (okay, by now it’s yesterday) in sunny Geneva with the election of Ambassador Masood Khan of Pakistan as President of the Conference and an opening speech by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. States Parties to the Convention spent the remainder of the first […]
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