Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 105 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction, published in 2024.

What other versions does this mandate have?

32 versions · 1972–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/71

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	A/RES/80/71	Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction	2,489	95%Compare
2024	A/RES/79/78	Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction	2,530	94%Compare
2023	A/RES/78/67	Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction	2,390	42%Compare
2022	A/RES/77/95	Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction	1,733	90%Compare
2021	A/RES/76/67	Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction	1,599	100%Compare

What subjects does this mandate have?

3 subjects

Biological Weapons Confidence-Building Measures Weapons Destruction

What’s in this document?

27 operative paragraphs

Notes the consensus reached at the Ninth 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, and calls upon States parties to the Convention to participate and actively engage in the continued implementation;

Notes with regret that the Ninth Review Conference was not able to reach consensus on a draft Final Declaration;

Notes with appreciation that, determined to strengthen the effectiveness and to improve the implementation of the Convention in all its aspects, the Conference decided to establish a Working Group open to all States parties;

Also notes with appreciation that the aim of the Working Group is to identify, examine and develop specific and effective measures, including possible legally binding measures, and to make recommendations to strengthen and institutionalize the Convention in all its aspects, to be submitted to States parties for consideration and any further action, that these measures should be formulated and designed in such a manner that their implementation supports international cooperation, scientific research and economic and technological development, avoiding any negative impacts, and that in this context the Working Group will address the following:

Measures on international cooperation and assistance under article X;

Measures on scientific and technological developments relevant to the Convention;

Measures on confidence-building and transparency;

Measures on compliance and verification;

Measures on national implementation of the Convention;

Measures on assistance, response and preparedness under article VII;

Measures on organizational, institutional and financial arrangements;

Notes with satisfaction that the Ninth Review Conference decided to develop with a view to establishing a mechanism open to all States parties to facilitate and support the full implementation of international cooperation and assistance under article X of the Convention, and that in order for this mechanism to be established, the Working Group on the strengthening of the Convention would make appropriate recommendations, and encourages States parties to provide, at least biannually, appropriate information on their implementation of article X and to collaborate to offer assistance or training, upon request, as contained in specific proposals, in support of the legislative and other implementation measures of States parties needed to ensure their compliance with the Convention;

Also notes with satisfaction that the Ninth Review Conference decided to develop with a view to establishing a mechanism to review and assess scientific and technological developments relevant to the Convention and to provide States parties with relevant advice, and that in order for this mechanism to be established, the Working Group on the strengthening of the Convention would make appropriate recommendations;

Notes that the decision by the Ninth Review Conference to establish the Working Group on the strengthening of the Convention is without prejudice to the mandate of the Ad Hoc Group established by the Special Conference of 1994,⁹ nor does it supersede, supplant or change it;

⁹See BWC/SPCONF/1.

Also notes that, in fulfilling its mandate, the Working Group will continue to take into account, inter alia, as appropriate, all documents agreed by the States parties under the Convention as well as work already done by States parties to strengthen the Convention without prejudice to any decision or position;

Notes with appreciation that, recognizing the need to balance an ambition to improve the intersessional programme within the constraints – both financial and human resources – faced by States parties, the Conference allocated 15 days to the Working Group for its substantive meetings, every year for the period from 2023 to 2026, and that the Working Group will meet in Geneva, in an in-person format in accordance with the regular practice under the Convention;

Also notes with satisfaction that, in line with paragraph 9, the Working Group has so far convened four sessions in Geneva, on 15 and 16 March, from 7 to 18 August and from 4 to 8 December 2023 and from 19 to 23 August 2024, respectively, during which it addressed the topics mandated by the Ninth Review Conference; and that the fifth session of the Working Group is scheduled to be held in Geneva from 2 to 13 December 2024;

Notes that the Conference urged the Working Group to complete its work as soon as possible, preferably before the end of 2025, that at the completion of its work, the Working Group will adopt a report, by consensus, that includes conclusions and recommendations according to its mandate, and that the adopted report will be submitted to States parties for their consideration at the Tenth Review Conference, or earlier at a special conference if it is requested according to the procedure established by the Third Review Conference,¹⁰ to decide on any further action;

¹⁰See BWC/CONF.III/23.

Appreciates the information and data on confidence-building measures provided by States parties to the Convention to date, and calls upon all States parties to participate in the exchange of information and data on confidence-building measures called for in the relevant decisions of the review conferences, and reiterates its call to make use of the platform for electronic submission, on a voluntary basis, without prejudice to their choice of methods for submission;

Notes the decision of the Eighth Review Conference to continue and improve the database established by the Seventh Review Conference to facilitate requests for and offers of exchange of assistance and cooperation, and urges States parties to submit to the Implementation Support Unit, on a voluntary basis, requests for and offers of cooperation and assistance, including in terms of equipment, materials and scientific and technological information regarding the use of biological and toxin agents for peaceful purposes;

Welcomes that the Ninth Review Conference noted with appreciation the functioning of the sponsorship programme and welcomed the continued willingness of donors to provide voluntary contributions that have allowed to support and increase the participation of representatives of developing States;

Also welcomes the decision of the Ninth Review Conference to renew the mandate of the Implementation Support Unit agreed to at the Seventh Review Conference, mutatis mutandis, for the period from 2023 to 2027, that it noted with appreciation the work of the Unit, and that, without prejudice to the decision of the Sixth Review Conference on the establishment of the Implementation Support Unit¹¹ and taking into account its decisions and the need for the Unit to render the necessary assistance and provide the services required for the intersessional period, the Ninth Review Conference decided to establish one new full-time staff position within the Unit, only for the period from 2023 to 2027, that the Unit will submit an annual written report to all States parties on its activities to implement its mandate, and that the Unit’s performance will be evaluated and its mandate reviewed by the States parties at the Tenth Review Conference;

¹¹See BWC/CONF.VI/6.

Notes with appreciation the events organized by some States parties, regional organizations and the Office for Disarmament Affairs of the Secretariat for exchanges of views on the implementation of the Convention, and encourages States parties to continue to participate in such informal exchanges and discussions;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to render the necessary assistance to the depositary Governments of the Convention and to continue to provide such services as may be required for the conduct and the implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the review conferences;

Notes that the Ninth Review Conference welcomed the improvement of the financial situation following the measures endorsed by the 2018 Meeting of the States Parties, as reflected in section V of the report of the Meeting,¹² confirmed their effectiveness and decided to review them at the Tenth Review Conference;

¹²See BWC/MSP/2018/6.

Notes with satisfaction that the Ninth Review Conference stressed the need to continue monitoring the overall financial situation of the Convention and to keep it under active review, and requested the Chairperson of the annual Meetings of the States Parties, in close consultation with the States parties, the Implementation Support Unit, the Office for Disarmament Affairs and the United Nations Office at Geneva, to report on the overall financial situation of the Convention, implementation of the measures endorsed in 2018, and possible further measures for consideration by the Meetings of the States Parties;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its eightieth session the item entitled “Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction”.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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