Biological Weapons Convention

Treaty that bans the development, production, stockpiling, acquisition, and maintenance of microbial or other biological agents or toxins, in types and quantities that are inconsistent with peaceful use. The Geneva Protocol of 1925 prohibits the use of both poison gas and bacteriological/biological weapons in warfare. However, by the time of the 1932–37 Disarmament Conference, attempts were being made to create an agreement that would also prohibit the production and stockpiling of biological and chemical weapons. Strong differences arose, however, as to whether chemical and biological weapons should continue to be linked.

On November 25, 1969, U.S. president Richard Nixon declared that the United States unilaterally renounced the first use of lethal or incapacitating chemical agents and weapons and unconditionally renounced all methods of biological warfare. Nixon ordered the U.S. Department of Defense to draw up a plan for the disposal of existing stocks of biological weapons. He also announced that the future efforts of the U.S. biological program would be confined to research on strictly defined defensive measures such as immunization. A number of countries including Canada, Sweden, and Great Britain followed suit. However, others, such as the Soviet Union, continued to push for a comprehensive agreement covering both biological and chemical weapons.

On March 30, 1971, the Soviet Union agreed to a draft convention limited to biological weapons and toxins. On August 5th of that year, the United States and the Soviet Union submitted separate, but identical, texts of a draft agreement to the United Nations General Assembly. The resolution was approved by a vote of 110 to 0 on December 16, 1971.

Although the convention drew widespread support, not all countries fully approved it. France abstained from voting because of fears that the convention might weaken the Geneva Protocol ban on the use of chemical weapons. France enacted separate domestic legislation banning biological weapons the following year. The People's Republic of China criticized the convention for not including chemical weapons in its prohibition, and neither participated in negotiations nor signed the convention. Several other countries signed, but expressed reservations similar to those voiced by the Chinese.

The convention is officially known as the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction, and is often called the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) for short. It was submitted for signature simultaneously at Washington, London, and Moscow on April 10, 1972. The U.S. Senate ratified the convention in December 1974 and President Gerald R. Ford signed it on January 22, 1975. In January 1976, all heads of federal agencies and departments certified to President Ford that they were in full compliance with the convention.

The absence of any formal verification regime to monitor compliance with the convention has limited its effectiveness. At a special conference in 1994, the nations that were parties to the convention agreed to establish the Ad Hoc Group of the States Parties to the BWC to negotiate and develop a legally binding verification regime. Although progress has been made, differing views and positions on key issues mean that this work is still ongoing. In 2001, the states parties [Page 79]adopted a final report that included a decision to hold annual meetings of the states parties and experts in the three years leading up to the next conference to review the convention in 2006.

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