Background document prepared by the Biological Weapons Convention Implementation Support Unit at the Sixth Session of the Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other WMD

Background document prepared by the Biological Weapons Convention Implementation Support Unit at the Sixth Session of the Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other WMD

The background document, prepared by the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) Implementation Support Unit, reviews the Convention’s role and relevance to the Middle East. The document outlines key obligations under the treaty, its intersessional work programme, and confidence-building measures. It highlights that 19 States in the Middle East are Parties to the BWC, while Egypt, Somalia, and Syria have signed but not ratified, and Israel and Djibouti have neither signed nor ratified. It notes that all 24 States in the region have participated in at least one BWC meeting, and 13 states have regularly submitted confidence-building measures in the past five years.  The paper stresses the importance of universal adherence to the BWC to strengthen collective security and reduce bioterrorism risks, and it describes capacity-building initiatives in the region, including workshops in Qatar, Tunisia, Mauritania, and Comoros.