Trust Trust Summer 2019 Summer BWC States parties make 2020 February Thirty years of Trust & Verify • some progress at their 164 Number Issue • annual meeting in Geneva 165 Number Issue The first edition of Trust & Verify came out in June 1989, three years after the charity had Danielabeen established, Bosnjak, Ekaterinaas a response Chabykina to the need and for E. Scotta ‘regular Brummel bulletin dealing solely with verifica- • tion’. The bulletin has been published throughout most of VERTIC’s existence and is now & ISSN 0966–9221 in its 164th edition. This article seeks to capture broad developments in verification, imple- • mentationAgainst the and backdrop compliance, of globally as reported challenging on the conditions pages of Trust for multilateral& Verify over arms the control years. and ISSN 0966–9221 disarmament,The Statesworld partieswas a very to the different Biological place Weapons when theConvention Centre first (BWC) started convened to write from about Verify verification.3 to 6 December In the2019 East, for theircommunist annual meetinggovernment in Geneva, control Switzerland. over their populations This year’s wasMeeting begin -of ningStates to parties slip. It (MSP) began representedin Poland that the summer,final meeting with thein the trade second union year Solidarity of the 2018-20 winning inter the- electionsessional in work Poland. programme. In the months Besides that considering followed, reformsthe reports and of upheaval the five would Meetings consume of Experts both Hungary(MXs) held and earlier Czechoslovakia, in 2019, the key the agenda Berlin item Wall at would the MSP come was down,the arrangements and the dictatorship for the Ninth in RomaniaReview Conference would come which to a bloodyis planned end. for These 2021. events started a chain reaction throughout the EasternAlthough Bloc, moving substantive so fast language that contemporary on the outcomes observers from would the MXs have could had difficulty not be agreed, com- prehendingthere was further them. convergenceBy Trust & Verifyon several No. proposals17, the Soviet discussed Union, at a the commanding MXs and delegations force since referred1945, had positively seized to to exist. the work of the five MXs. States parties also agreed on key elements of the arrangementsOf course, for this the was Review not the Conference end of the in transformation 2021, although occurring a decision in on those its precise remarkable dura- tionyears. was In deferred 1989, F. untilW. de the Klerk 2020 was MSP. elected Furthermore, South African delegations president. agreed His that government Ambassador wouldAliyar Lebbestart work Abdul to bothAzeez dismantle of Sri Lanka apartheid would and chair dismantle the 2020 its MSP. nuclear weapons, work that would be completed by the time Nelson Mandela was elected president in 1994. Organization The demise and workof the ofSoviet the MSPUnion would open up a decade of multilateral collabora- Ambassadortion. Throughout Yann Hwangthis period, of France the worldchaired saw the action MSP on with the Ambassadorenvironment Andreano through theErwin adop of- Indonesiation of the and United Ambassador Nations AdrianFramework Vierita Convention of Romania on as ClimateVice-Chairs. Change The in agenda 1992, thefor theconclu MSP- consistedsion of negotiations of twelve items, on a comprehensive including the general ban on debate,chemical consideration weapons in 1993,of the a factualcomplete reports ban fromon nuclear the MXs, weapons management testing in of 1996, the Convention’s and the strengthening intersessional of nuclear programme, safeguards progress in 1997. made towards universalizationThe 1990s were of also the Convention,marked by a thechange annual in thereport socio-economic of the Implementation power of Supportnations. At the start of the decade, the ten biggest economies were clustered in North America and Unit (ISU) and arrangements for the Ninth Review Conference and its Preparatory Com- Europe, with only Brazil and Japan being outside the transatlantic block. By 2000, China mittee in 2021. In addition, a total of 15 side events (listed on the BWC website) took place United Kingdom United London E2 9DA Rd. Cambridge Heath House Green The had joined those ranks, and its economic strength would continue to grow in the decades Centre Information and Training Research, Verification during the MSP, organised by States parties and NGOs. that followed. In Europe, work to achieve social and economic integration accelerated with A total of 122 of the current 183 BWC States parties participated in the Meeting, along the opening of the Treaty on European Union (also known as the Maastricht Treaty) in 1992 with all four Signatory states and two of the ten States not party to the Convention. This is the which established the largest trading bloc and integrated economy in the world. highest ever number of States parties to attend an MSP and almost equals the overall highest With these profound changes, barriers to the movement of capital, trade and peo- number of 124 States parties attending the Eighth Review Conference in 2016. In addition, four ple fell. Moreover, the pace of digitalisation and the free exchange of data on the internet ( UN entities, 11 international and regional organizations and 27 NGOs attended the MSP. VERTIC also meant that ideas, to a greater extent than ever before, were no longer constrained by Overall a total of 673 people participated in the event, of whom 239 were women (35.5 per cent). website email tel borders. Since our first edition, the world has become more prosperous, better educated and +44 (0)20 3559 6146 In his opening remarks, Ambassador Hwang stressed the collective responsibility of ) [email protected] more transparent. This change did not benefit all, however, with the countries of the former www.vertic.org all States parties to preserve and strengthen the BWC as one of the pillars of the international Soviet Union locked in a decades-long spiral of economic decline, and profound social non-proliferation regime and a fundamental instrument for common security interests. Anja changes elsewhere started to create a growing sense of disenfranchisement and discontent Kaspersen, Director of the Office for Disarmament Affairs’ Geneva Branch, delivered a state- in many parts of both the developed and developing world. ment on behalf of the United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu. She highlighted three issues of critical importance to the Convention, namely 2 improving preparedness for deliberate events, safeguarding the • Advances in science and technology: Several delegations peaceful uses of biology and enhancing capacities for review- noted the broad support for establishing a science and ing scientific developments. technology review mechanism under the BWC and called for intensifying efforts towards adopting a decision at the General Debate Ninth Review Conference; Following the opening formalities, the remainder of the first • Assistance, response and preparedness: Delegations wel- day and part of the second day were devoted to the General comed the various proposals to operationalize Article VII of Debate in which 63 States parties took the floor. Additionally, the Convention and noted their broad cross-regional support; group statements were delivered by Azerbaijan on behalf of the • Secretary-General’s Mechanism (SGM): Some delega- Non-Aligned Movement, Philippines on behalf of the Asso- tions acknowledged work undertaken in the context of the ciation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and Iraq on SGM and referred to a 2020 capstone exercise to be held behalf of the Arab Group. In their inventions, States parties in Germany. On the other hand, others expressed the need raised the following overarching themes: for the BWC to establish its own independent investigative mechanisms through multilaterally-agreed provisions; and • Meetings of Experts: Various delegations referred posi- • Gender issues: A number of delegations stressed the impor- tively to the work of the MXs and expressed gratitude to tance of including gender perspectives in multilateral arms the five Chairs. Many delegations also referred to their wish control and disarmament, with a particular focus on the to see the work of the MXs reflected in the MSP report in relevance of a strong gender dimension in tackling issues a substantive manner; relevant to the implementation of the BWC. • Universality: Many States parties welcomed Tanzania as the newest State party to the Convention and called for Following the various regional group and national the intensification of efforts to reach universal adherence; statements, the MSP then moved into an informal session to • Ninth Review Conference: Some States parties shared provide civil society organizations with the opportunity to their preferences for the arrangements for the Ninth Review deliver brief statements. A joint statement endorsed by a Conference; while all acknowledged the importance of a number of NGOs and individuals called for States parties to substantive preparatory process, different views were expressed engage with civil society and welcomed the inclusion of lan- concerning the duration of the Review Conference; guage on gender in the General Assembly resolution on the • Financial matters: Several delegations reiterated the impor- BWC. Subsequently, nine individual NGOs made statements, tance of full and timely payments by all States parties; at the which called, inter alia, for the