The United
Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) – through the United Nations
Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) and
the UNODA-Geneva Branch, and with financial support from the European Union
(EU) with the government – is organising a national workshop on the implementation
of the Biological Weapons Convention.
The workshop
will be held in Kathmandu on February 20-21. It will bring together all the
national stakeholders and implementing authorities in Nepal with regional and
international experts on the subject, the statement read, adding that the activity
is part of a wider national assistance programme for promoting universal
adherence to the Biological Weapons Convention and enhancing national
capabilities for implementing obligations under the Biological Weapons
Convention, including through: modalities for national coordination to
facilitate and increase participation in the confidence-building measures;
legislative, administrative and enforcement measures; awareness-raising; and
the creation of codes of conduct and standards on biosafety and biosecurity.
During the two-day
workshop, participants will discuss the various concepts of the convention and
ways to reinforce national implementation based on regional experiences. They
will also identify key partners, to conduct an initial needs and priorities
assessment and develop a plan of action for the assistance programme for Nepal.
Experts from the Verification Research, Training and Information Centre (VERTIC),
EU, the UNODA and UNRCPD will make presentations.
The Biological Weapons Convention was opened
for signature in 1972 and entered into force in 1975. It prohibits the
development, production, acquisition, transfer, storage and stockpiling of
biological and toxin weapons. The Biological Weapons Convention, along with the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Chemical Weapons Convention, are the
three main pillars of the international community’s key efforts to control the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The
UNODA-Geneva Branch hosts the Biological Weapons Convention Implementation
Support Unit, which is mandated to assist States Parties in national
implementation efforts and to 'help States Parties help themselves'.
As part of
its mandate, UNRCPD is engaged in supporting the implementation of the Biological
Weapons Convention in Asia and the Pacific.
The workshop
is part of the EU funded ' Biological Weapons Convention Action', which
supports the Biological Weapons Convention at international, regional and
national levels through three major projects: universality and national
implementation, strengthening confidence in compliance, and strengthening
international cooperation and encouraging discussion on the future of the Biological
Weapons Convention.
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