Resumed Session
Geneva, 11 22 November 2002
FIFTH
REVIEW CONFERENCE OF THE STATES PARTIES TO THE
CONVENTION ON THE PROHIBITION OF THE DEVELOPMENT,
PRODUCTION AND STOCKPILING OF BACTERIOLOGICAL
(BIOLOGICAL) AND TOXIN WEAPONS AND ON THEIR DESTRUCTION
Introduction
1. The Final Declaration of the Fourth
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, in the section dealing with the review
of Article XII of the Convention, contained the following decision:
The Conference
decides that a Fifth Review Conference shall be held in Geneva at the request
of the majority of States Parties, or in any case, not later than 2001.[1]
2. By resolution 55/40, adopted without
a vote on 20 November 2000, the General Assembly, inter alia, noted that, at the request of the States Parties, a
Fifth Review Conference of the States Parties to the Convention would be held
at Geneva from 19 November to 7 December 2001, and that,
following appropriate consultations, a Preparatory Committee for that
Conference had been formed, open to all States Parties to the Convention, and
that the Preparatory Committee would meet in Geneva from 25 to
27 April 2001.
3. The Preparatory Committee held three
meetings at Geneva from 25 to 27 April 2001. At its last
meeting, on 27 April 2001, the Preparatory Committee adopted its report, which
was issued as a pre-session document of the Conference (BWC/CONF.V/PC/1).
Organization of the Conference
4. In accordance with the decision of the Preparatory Committee,
the Conference was convened on 19 November 2001 at the Palais des Nations in
Geneva for a period of three weeks.
At its sixth plenary meeting on 7 December 2001, the Conference decided
by consensus to adjourn its proceedings and reconvene at Geneva from 11 to 22
November 2002. The organization, participation, work, documentation and
decisions of the Conference during this initial session are recorded in the
Interim Report (BWC/CONF.V/12), adopted on 7 December 2001, and attached to
this report as Annex I.
5. In accordance with the decision of the Conference, a resumed
session of the Conference was convened on 11 November 2002 at the Palais des
Nations in Geneva.
Participation
at the Conference
6. Participation at the initial session of the Conference is
recorded in the Interim Report (attached as Annex I).
7. Ninety-four
States Parties to the Convention participated in the resumed session of the
Conference as follows: Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria,
Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil,
Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland,
France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Holy See, Honduras, Hungary,
Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Ireland, Italy,
Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,
Lithuania, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands,
New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland,
Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia,
Senegal, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden,
Switzerland, Thailand, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tunisia,
Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United
States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen and Yugoslavia.
8. In
addition, four States that had signed the Convention but had not yet ratified
it participated in the resumed session without taking part in the making of
decisions, as provided for in rule 44, paragraph 1 of the Rules of Procedure:
Egypt, Madagascar, Myanmar, Nepal.
9. One
State, Israel, neither Party nor Signatory to the Convention, participated in
the resumed session as an Observer, in accordance with rule 44, paragraph 2
(a).
10. The United Nations, including the United Nations Institute for
Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), attended the resumed session of the Conference
in accordance with rule 44, paragraph 3.
11. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the
World Health Organization (WHO) participated in the resumed session as
Observers. In addition, the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the International Centre for
Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), upon their request, were granted
Observer status during the resumed session.
Fifteen non-governmental organizations and research institutes attended
the resumed session of the Conference under rule 44, paragraph 5.
12. Lists of all delegations to the Conference, at its initial and
resumed sessions, are contained in documents BWC/CONF.V/INF.3 and
BWC/CONF.V/INF.5 respectively.
13. The Credentials Committee held two meetings, and at its second
meeting on 6 December 2001 adopted its report on the credentials of States
Parties (BWC/CONF.V/CC/1).
14. The work of the Conference during its initial session is
recorded in the Interim Report (attached as Annex I).
15. During the resumed session, the Conference held a further two
plenary meetings, in addition to the six plenary meetings held during the
initial session.
16. At its seventh plenary meeting on 11 November 2002, the
Conference approved the cost estimates for the resumed session, as contained in
BWC/CONF.V/13, and adopted the President's proposal for a flexible programme of
work for the resumed session, with the schedule of meetings to be determined as
needed in consultation with the General Committee and the Regional Group
Coordinators.
Documentation
17. A list of documents of the Conference is contained in Annex
III to this Report.
Decisions and Recommendations
18. At
its eighth and final plenary meeting on 14 November 2002, the Conference
decided, by consensus, as follows:
(a) To hold three annual meetings of the
States Parties of one week duration each year commencing in 2003 until the
Sixth Review Conference, to be held not later than the end of 2006, to discuss,
and promote common understanding and effective action on:
i.
the
adoption of necessary national measures to implement the prohibitions set forth
in the Convention, including the enactment of penal legislation;
ii.
national
mechanisms to establish and maintain the security and oversight of pathogenic
microorganisms and toxins;
iii.
enhancing
international capabilities for responding to, investigating and mitigating the
effects of cases of alleged use of biological or toxin weapons or suspicious
outbreaks of disease;
iv.
strengthening
and broadening national and international institutional efforts and existing
mechanisms for the surveillance, detection, diagnosis and combating of
infectious diseases affecting humans, animals, and plants;
v.
the
content, promulgation, and adoption of codes of conduct for scientists.
(b) All
meetings, both of experts and of States Parties, will reach any conclusions or
results by consensus.
(c) Each
meeting of the States Parties will be prepared by a two week meeting of
experts. The topics for consideration at each annual meeting of States Parties
will be as follows: items i and ii will be considered in 2003; items iii and iv
in 2004; item v in 2005. The first meeting will be chaired by a representative
of the Eastern Group, the second by a representative of the Group of
Non-Aligned and Other States, and the third by a representative of the Western
Group.
(d) The
meetings of experts will prepare factual reports describing their work.
(e) The
Sixth Review Conference will consider the work of these meetings and decide on
any further action.
19. At the same meeting, the Conference decided that the Sixth Review Conference would be held in Geneva in 2006, and would be preceded by a Preparatory Committee.
20. Also at the same meeting, the Conference adopted by consensus its Final Document, comprising this report (BWC/CONF.V/L.1) and three annexes: Annex I Interim Report of the Conference; Annex II rules of procedure of the Conference; Annex III list of documents of the Conference.
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