1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC/BTWC)

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The 1972 Biological Weapons Convention prohibits the development, production, stockpiling or other acquisition or retention, or transfer of biological and toxin weapons (which are defined in Article I using what has become known as the general purpose criterion) and requires the destruction of any existing weapons. BWC states parties have additionally agreed that use of biological weapons is effectively covered by the treaty’s prohibitions. The target of such could be against humans, animals or plants. States that have signed but not ratified the BWC are nonetheless obliged to refrain from acts which would defeat the object and purpose of the treaty, such as developing or using biological weapons.

The BWC was negotiated within the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament (a precursor of today’s Conference on Disarmament). Negotiations started in the late 1960s and were concluded in 1971. The Convention was formally opened for signature on 10 April 1972 and it entered into force on 26 March 1975.

The negotiations for the BWC were at a time of heightened international concern about chemical and biological weapons. This was the first occasion when the two categories of weaponry prohibited together in the Geneva Protocol were separated. Part of the justification for separate treatment of the two categories of weapons for many governments was the perception that, unlike a comprehensive prohibition of chemical weapons, a ban on biological weapons did not require intrusive verification and that it could therefore be concluded quickly.

As of 1 January 2026, the BWC has 189 states parties and 4 signatory states, with 4 states that have neither signed nor ratified the Convention. The depositaries of the BWC are the governments of Russia, the UK and the USA.

Owing to a lack of conclusion to the earlier debates about verification, there is no international organization at the core of the BWC, although there is an active Implementation Support Unit (ISU) for the BWC that is embedded within the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs.

National positions and interactions with the Convention can be found via the information by country pages.

 

HSP/SHIB coding:

These fileheadings form part of the Sussex Harvard Information Bank (SHIB), the dataset at the core of the work of the Harvard Sussex Program (HSP).

Commentary on the BWC can be found in fileheading E1.3 and its subfiles; the next level of which are:

  • E1.3.1 — Interpretations re toxins
  • E1.3.2 — Domestic implementation
  • E1.3.3 — First Review Conference, 1980
  • E1.3.4 — Second Review Conference, 1986
  • E1.3.5 — The agreed Confidence Building Measures
  • E1.3.6 — Proposals
  • E1.3.7 — Third Review Conference, 1991
  • E1.3.8 — Other Confidence Building Measures
  • E1.3.9 — Verification studies
  • E1.3.10 — Controlling BW: proliferation constraints &c
  • E1.3.11 — Special Conference, 1994
  • E1.3.12 — Fourth Review Conference (1996)
  • E1.3.13 — Fifth Review conference (2001-2002)
  • E1.3.14 — Sixth Review Conference (2006)
  • E1.3.15 — Seventh Review Conference (2011)
  • E1.3.16 — Eighth Review Conference (2016)

BWC non-compliance issues are dealt within SHIB fileheading E1.4.2 and subfiles; the next level of which are:

  • E1.4.2.1 — Allegations of US non-compliance
  • E1.4.2.2 — Allegations of Soviet/Russian non-compliance
  • E1.4.2.3 — Current-year only
  • E1.4.2.4 — Cuban Thrips allegation 1997

Issues around strengthening the BWC are dealt within SHIB fileheading E2.1.6 and subfiles; the next level of which are:

  • E2.1.6.1 – Industry concerns
  • E2.1.6.2 – Biosecurity Convention –
  • E2.1.6.3 – Codes of conduct
  • E2.1.6.4 – Investigating allegations of use
  • E2.1.6.5 – UNSG Bioforum
  • E2.1.6.6 – S & T Reviews
  • E2.1.6.7 – Health-Related Measures

Official documents from the BWC and its meetings can be found in fileheading H2.3 and its subfiles; the next level of which are:

  • H2.3.1 — First Review Conference (1980)
  • H2.3.2 — Second Review Conference (1986)
  • H2.3.3 — Third Review Conference (1991)
  • H2.3.4 — Special Conference (1994)
  • H2.3.5 — Fourth Review Conference (25 Nov–6 Dec 1996)
  • H2.3.6 — Fifth Review Conference (19 Nov–7 Dec 2001)
  • H2.3.7 — CBM returns
  • H2.3.8 — Sixth Review Conference (20 Nov–8 Dec 2006)
  • H2.3.9 — Seventh Review Conference (5-22 Dec 2011)
  • H2.3.10 — Eighth Review Conference (7-25 Nov 2016)

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