The Eig ighth Review Conference: : Process overv rview Introductory Workshop on the Eighth BWC Review Conference BWC ISU, ILPI, GCSP 19 September 2016 Daniel Feakes Chief BWC Implementation Support Unit United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (Geneva Branch)
Overview • Mandate of the Review Conference • History of past Review Conferences • Procedural and administrative issues • 2016 Preparatory Process • BWC Sponsorship Programme
Role of the RevCon “Five years after the entry into force of this Convention … a conference of States Parties to the Convention shall be held at Geneva, Switzerland, to review the operation of the Convention, with a view to assuring that the purposes of the preamble and the provisions of the Convention … are being realized. Such review shall take into account any new scientific and technological developments relevant to the Convention.” BWC Article XII
RevCon frequency • BWC – “Five years after the entry into force of this Convention … a conference of States Parties to the Convention shall be held …” • RC1 – “not earlier than 1985 … not later than 1990” • RC2, 3, 4 and 5 – “not later than …” • RC6 – “ recommends that Review Conferences should continue to be held at least every five years .” • RC7 – “ decides that Review Conferences be held at least every five years .”
Eighth Review Conference “The Conference decides that the Eighth Review Conference shall be held in Geneva not later than 2016 and should review the operation of the Convention, taking into account, inter alia: a) new scientific and technological developments relevant to the Convention, taking into account the relevant decision of this Conference regarding the review of developments in the field of science and technology related to the Convention; b) the progress made by States Parties on the implementation of the Convention; c) progress of the implementation of decisions and recommendations agreed upon at the Seventh Review Conference , taking into account, as appropriate, decisions and recommendations reached at previous review conferences.” BWC/CONF.VII/7, para 66, p. 18
Previous Review Conferences 200 180 175 165 160 155 146 140 132 120 118 114 SPs 103 103 102 100 94 93 Participating SPs PrepCom 87 80 78 78 77 Participating SPs RevCon 69 68 65 63 60 58 53 40 40 20 0 RC1 RC2 RC3 RC4 RC5 RC6 RC7 RC8 1980 1986 1991 1996 2001/02 2006 2011 2016
Review Conference presidents RC President State Party Reg. Group 1 Oscar Vaerno Norway Western 2 Winfried Lang Austria NAM 3 Roberto Moritan Argentina NAM* 4 Michael Weston UK Western 5 Tibor Toth Hungary Eastern 6 Masood Khan Pakistan NAM 7 Paul van den IJssel Netherlands Western 8 György Molnár Hungary Eastern * In 1991, the Eastern European Group ceded the Presidency of the Third RevCon to the NAM
Procedural and admin issues • Duration – generally of three weeks duration • Timing – usually at the end of the year • Budget – until 2011, funded by States participating, now funded by all States Parties • Preparatory Committee – usually a few days on procedural matters in the Spring (until 2016) • Bureau – Chairman and two Vice-Chairs elected by PrepCom, authorized to handle “technical and other matters in the period before the Review Conference” • Venue – All meetings take place in the United Nations Office at Geneva • Rules of procedure – unchanged for many years
Financing the RevCon • MSP 2015 also approved cost estimates for the BWC meetings this year contained in BWC/MSP/2015/5* • Costs are shared by all States Parties: • April PrepCom – $170,000 • August PrepCom - $218,700 • RevCon – $816,700 • ISU – $760,700 • Total cost in 2016 of $1,966,700 • Over 100 States Parties pay less than $1,000 per year and 52 pay less than $100
2016 preparatory process General Assembly resolution 70/74 Report of the 2015 MSP
2016 PrepCom Process August PrepCom April PrepCom • Remaining procedural matters • Organizational aspects • Continuation of the General • General exchange of views Exchange of Views • 1.5 days • Comprehensive consideration of all Convention provisions • Cross cutting issues (S&T, possible future ISP, ISU) • 4.5 days Preparatory Committee Agenda BWC/CONF.VIII/PC/1
April 2016 PrepCom • Election of office-holders : – Chairman - György Molnár (Hungary) EEG – Vice-Chairman - Michael Biontino (Germany) WG – Vice-Chairman - Boudjemâa Delmi (Algeria) NAM • General exchange of views : – 27 States Parties – 8 States Parties presented specific proposals • Decision on background papers from ISU • Endorsed dates (7-25 Nov) , duration and financial arrangements already agreed by MSP2015
August 2016 PrepCom • Organization of RevCon - Agreement to recommend to the RevCon: – Provisional agenda for RevCon – Draft Rules of Procedure – Composition of the General Committee • General Exchange of views: – 41 States Parties, Iran on behalf of NAM, statements by EU, ICRC • Comprehensive consideration of the BWC: – 30 States Parties took the floor • Final report of the PrepCom – BWC/CONF.VIII/PC/9 – Includes Chairman’s “summary report” under his own responsibility
Possible Themes for the RevCon: Working Papers 10 9 9 8 8 7 6 5 5 5 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 0
Possible Themes for the RevCon: Working Papers Distribution WPs by Observer Agencies 8% Cross-regional WPs 13% Co-sponsored WPs within a RG 15% National WPs 64% National WPs Co-sponsored WPs within a RG Cross-regional WPs WPs by Observer Agencies
BWC Sponsorship programme • To enable participation in BWC meetings in Geneva • Supported by voluntary contributions • Aimed at developing States Parties, who have not previously/regularly attended BWC meetings • Also available for States not party to the BWC • Covers cost of flights to and from Geneva and DSA for attendance at BWC meetings • Deadline for applications for 2016 PrepCom and Review Conference was 30 May 2016 • Application form and selection criteria on BWC website • www.unog.ch/bwc/sponsorship
BWC Sponsorship Programme • 34 participants from 25 SPs (incl. Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Malawi, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe) • 5 States Parties and EU sponsored programme • Participation in 1 week PrepCom, 1 week RevCon • Eligibility • Nomination
For more information … ww www. w.un unog og.ch/b .ch/bwc wc Or contact: BWC Implementation Support Unit United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs Palais des Nations Geneva fax: +41 (0)22 917 0483 e-mail: bwc@unog.ch @BWCISU www.facebook.com/1972BWC
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