ISSUE AREAS:

Launch of Briefing Book for the BWC Sixth Review Conference 2006

BASIC, the Harvard-Sussex Program and VERTIC have prepared a ‘Briefing Book for the BWC Sixth Review Conference 2006’. It is intended to aid delegates to the Sixth Review Conference of the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and thus contribute to a constructive and successful outcome. The conference will be held 20 November–8 December 2006 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The book was launched at a panel discussion hosted by the Geneva Forum at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on 9 November. It isl also available to download from the three websites. The book contains official documents and other texts relating to the biological weapons regime, including:

• official BWC documents (such as the Final Documents from the previous five Review Conferences);
• documents from the United Nations, other international organisations and regional organisations;
• documents from informal instruments and arrangements; and
• supporting material from various non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

It will also be a useful resource for researchers, non-governmental organisations, journalists and others in civil society with an interest in the biological weapons regime embodied in the BWC.

BASIC, HSP and VERTIC are grateful to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for funding the book.

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