Biological and Chemical Weapons

1999: Year of the BWC Protocol?

CBW Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 5 (January 1999)

A new round of negotiations for a verification protocol to the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC) opened on 4 January 1999 in Geneva.  Scheduled to run through 22 January, this first meeting of the year for the BWC Ad Hoc Group of the Conference on Disarmament faces a formidable challenge if an agreement is to be concluded prior to the next BWC Review Conference in 2001.

The Ad Hoc Group, created in 1994 to consider possible ways of strengthening the BWC, was called upon at the Fourth Review Conference in 1996 to complete a verification protocol within five years.  However, even with the additional four negotiating sessions planned for 1999, negotiators will be hard pressed to iron out the details of an agreement.  (Refer to Box 3 for the 1999 BWC Ad Hoc Group negotiating schedule.)  Prior to the 2001 BWC Review Conference, a special conference must first be convened to consider the agreement.  Therefore, the Ad Hoc Group realistically must complete the bulk of its work by the end of this year in order to allow home governments sufficient time to examine the final protocol text before the special session.  Some officials are hopeful that a protocol can be concluded within this tight time frame, while others remain skeptical.

A number of outstanding issues remain.  Rolling text, first unveiled in June 1997, has since expanded and remains filled with thousands of brackets of language yet to be agreed upon by participating states.  Sticking points linger on a wide spectrum of issues, including declaration triggers, definitions of the scope of the protocol, and the types of inspections to be incorporated into an on-site inspection regime.  In addition, some developing countries are making their support of an agreement contingent upon improved technical cooperation and exchanges under Article X of the treaty, as well as a loosening of export controls on dual-use technologies.

In a speech at the October 1998 Ad Hoc Group meeting, John Holum, the Acting Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs, urged parties to redouble their efforts this year, saying, “1999 should be the year of the BWC Protocol.” Negotiators will have to march swiftly through a full agenda and a tight schedule to achieve that goal.

 

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