Biological Weapons Convention (Hansard, 10 April 2001)

§ Mr. Cohen
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to attend the negotiations in Geneva on a protocol to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention. [156968]

§ Mr. Wilson
A total of seven weeks of meetings are scheduled for the rest of this year in Geneva on a Protocol to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). The Protocol is an important arms control objective for the Untied Kingdom and Foreign Office Ministers have already addressed the BWC ad hoc group on two separate occasions to stress the need for a successful outcome to the negotiations. We are currently assessing the contents of the draft Protocol which was tabled by the Chair of the BWC ad hoc group (Ambassador Toth, Hungary) on 30 March, and also await first reactions for the other countries involved. We welcome the appearance of the text at this stage of the negotiations. We will consider ministerial attendance as negotiations proceed.

§ Mr. Menzies Campbell
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the status of the negotiations with the ad hoc group in Geneva for a protocol to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention. [157114]

§ Mr. Wilson
On 30 March the Chairman of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) ad hoc group, Ambassador Tibor Toth of Hungary, tabled the text of a draft Protocol to the BWC. This has been sent to all States 531W Parties and will come under discussion at the next negotiating session which begins in Geneva on 23 April. The UK has played a leading role throughout these negotiations as we have had responsibility for the section of the text on compliance measures—the core of the future Protocol. We welcome the appearance of the text and are currently assessing this overall content. A successful outcome by the time of the BWC Review Conference remains a possibility but will depend upon the reaction to the text from all countries involved over the coming months. An effective BWC Protocol remains an important arms control objective for the United Kingdom as it will help fill the last remaining gap in Treaty provisions designed to stem the proliferation of WMD.