Final Report
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Time to lay down the law National legislation to enforce the BWC The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, is the Verification Research, Training and Information Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) Centre, an independent, non-profit making, non-govern- Time to lay down the law and Toxin Weapons and on eir Destruction () obliges mental organisation. Its mission is to promote effective and states parties to take any necessary national measures to efficient verification as a means of ensuring confidence in National legislation to enforce the BWC implement the treaty in their territory. States parties have the implementation of international agreements and intra- agreed that this requires the adoption of legislation, including national agreements with international involvement. penal sanctions. aims to achieve its mission through research, training, Only now, thirty years after the treaty’s adoption, are states dissemination of information, and interaction with the parties collectively considering what legislative provisions relevant political, diplomatic, technical, scientific and non- are required to effectively enforce the treaty. This report is governmental communities. intended to assist states parties in this endeavour by assessing The Centre is based at Baird House, – St. Cross Street, the current status of their national legislation to enforce the London, , United Kingdom. treaty’s core prohibitions. The report provides comparative Phone +.()... analysis of existing legislation, makes recommendations for Fax +.()... increasing the rate of adoption of legislation and proposes E-mail [email protected] ways to make existing and new legislation more effective. Web www.vertic.org It should be of use to states parties preparing to adopt or amend legislation, states and organisations providing assist- Design and production: Richard Jones, Exile: Design and ance to states parties, and to the international community Editorial Services ([email protected]). generally. A companion dataset of legislation collected is Front cover images: New Zealand laws © Angela Woodward; available at ’s website. ‘Old Bailey’ criminal court, London © Angela Woodward; is grateful to those states parties that completed our Anthrax bacterial spores © Scott Camazine/Science Photo questionnaire, sent us their legislation or provided supple- Library. mental information. also thanks the Department Back cover image: Smallpox virus © Eye of Science/Science for Disarmament Affairs and the International Committee Photo Library. of the Red Cross for their support. Notwithstanding this Printed by Corporate and Commercial Printing Limited, valuable assistance, responsibility for this document rests – Helmet Row, London , United Kingdom. with . --- is grateful to the Ploughshares Fund for its generous financial assistance for this project. © Time to lay down the law National legislation to enforce the BWC Foreword Acronyms Glossary Introduction Survey of national implementation legislation Survey method Survey results Figure 1 Status of national implementation legislation by region Comparative analysis Defi nitions Scope of prohibitions incorporated in national legislation Enforcement powers Export and import controls External territories Extraterritoriality and universal jurisdiction Divulgence of BW-related-related informationinformation National focal point Penal sanctions Recommendations for strengthening national implementation legislation Promoting common understandings A mechanism for providing assistance Ensuring national legislation is implemented and enforced Enhancing transparency ConclusionC onclusion About the author Annex Confi dence-Building Measure Form ‘E’: Declaration of legislation, regulations and other measures List of tables Table 1 Range of defi nitions used in national implementation legislation Table 1A Other defi nitions which may relate to biological weapons Table 2 Legislation which attempt to enforce the full range of Article 1 prohibitions Table 2A Other off ences directly related to biological weapons or biological agents but not cast in BWC treaty language Table 2B Non-BW specifi c off ences that may serve to prohibit biological weapons or misuse of biological agents Table 3 Illustrative summary of enforcement powers Table 4 Illustrative summary of export and import control provisions TableT able 5 NATIONAL LEGISLATION TO ENFORCE THE BWC ENFORCE TO LEGISLATION NATIONAL Known external territories of selected BWC states parties TableT able 6 List of states parties with a national focal point TIME TO LAY DOWN THE LAW DOWN LAY TO TIME Foreword e Biological Weapons Convention () obliges states parties to adopt national measures to implement their fundamental obligations under the treaty. States parties have repeatedly reaffi rmed the obligation to adopt such national measures at successive Review Conferences. At the resumed Fifth Review Conference held in November , they agreed, as part of a ‘new process’, to discuss and promote ‘common understandings and eff ective action’ on the adoption of necessary national measures, including penal legislation. is is the fi rst agenda item for a series of Experts Meetings and Meetings of States Parties being held between and . is pleased to contribute to the discussions at the fi rst of these Meetings of States Parties, to be held in Geneva from – November , by producing this report: Time to lay down the law: national legislation to enforce the BWC. It is the fi nal report of ’s project on National Legislation to Implement the Biological Weapons Convention covering the period April to October . It incorporates information and advice obtained from consultations with states parties and others on the fi ndings and recommendations of an interim report which was prepared for the Experts Meeting in August . In addition to being a contribution to the Meeting of States Parties in November , the report should also be of use to states parties preparing to adopt or amend legislation or those providing assistance to others. It should also be of interest to international organisations, non-governmental organisations and others with an interest in improved implementation of the . e report was written by Angela Woodward, with research assistance from Marie Fagerström, Nicola NATIONAL LEGISLATION TO ENFORCE THE BWC ENFORCE TO LEGISLATION NATIONAL Horsburgh, John Russell and Patricia Watt. is grateful to all of the states parties that have cooperated with us, especially those which fi lled out our questionnaire and provided supplemental information. also wishes to thank the Inter national Committee of the Red Cross () and the United Nations Department for Disarmament Aff airs () for sharing information on their legislative holdings, as well as others who have provided information. Notwithstanding this valuable assistance, the views expressed in this document, along with any errors or omissions, are those of alone. THE LAW DOWN LAY TO TIME Despite ’s intensive research, we do not have information on all states parties. It would be helpful if states parties which have not already done so complete the questionnaire and provide texts of their national measures, so that we may update our website collection of national implementing laws. While every eff ort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of material reproduced in this report, does not guarantee that it is free from error or omission. We encourage your comments on any errors or omissions and welcome the submission of additional legislative texts. Finally, is grateful to the Ploughshares Fund for its generous fi nancial assistance for this project. Trevor Findlay Editor and Executive Director, October Acronyms Association of Southeast Asian Nations African Union Biological Weapons Biological Weapons Convention BioWeapons Prevention Project Caribbean Community Confi dence-Building Measure Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism (Comite Interamericano Contra el Terrorismo) Counter-Terrorism Committee Chemical Weapons Convention European Community European Union International Committee of the Red Cross International Humanitarian Law NATIONAL LEGISLATION TO ENFORCE THE BWC ENFORCE TO LEGISLATION NATIONAL Meeting of States Parties Non-Governmental Organisation Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe TIME TO LAY DOWN THE LAW DOWN LAY TO TIME United Nations United Nations Department for Disarmament Aff airs Verifi cation Research, Training and Information Centre World Customs Organisation World Health Organisation Weapons of Mass Destruction Glossary Biological Weapons Convention () e Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacter- iological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on eir Destruction. e treaty entered into force on March . It prohibits the development, production, stockpiling or acquisition or retention of biological agents except for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes and weapons, equipment or means of delivery designed to use such biological agents. Biosafety e application of knowledge, techniques and equipment to prevent personal, laboratory and environ- mental exposure to potentially infectious agents or biohazards. Biosafety defi nes the containment conditions under which infectious agents can be safely manipulated. Biosecurity e eff ective implementation