In accordance with its mandate, and in line with its efforts to assist the Chair of BWC meetings, the ISU has presented information on the Convention, its history and Review Conferences, the activities and efforts of States Parties, the current intersessional programme, and universalization activities.

UN-ODA Disarmament Yearbook

The ISU provides the substantive input on the BWC for the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs Disarmament yearbook.

• 2012 Yearbook Chapter on Biological and Chemical Weapons (to cover 2011)
• 2011 Yearbook Chapter on Biological and Chemical Weapons (to cover 2010)
• 2010 Yearbook Chapter on Biological and Chemical Weapons (to cover 2009)
• 2009 Yearbook Chapter on Biological and Chemical Weapons (to cover 2008)
• 2008 Yearbook Chapter on Biological and Chemical Weapons (to cover 2007)
• 2007 Yearbook Chapter on Biological and Chemical Weapons (to cover 2006)

Presentations

2007
2008
2009

• Briefing for the American College Program, Survey of International Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland, 7 January 2009. The ISU gave a presentation on the Biological Weapons Convention.

• Geneva Forum Orientation for Diplomats, Geneva, Switzerland, 26 January 2009. The ISU gave a presentation on the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.

• Briefing for Dutch Diplomats, Scheveningen, the Netherlands, 2 February 2009. The ISU gave a presentation on Biological Weapons, Biology and the Ban.

• Briefing for the Canadian Forces College National Security Programme, Geneva, Switzerland, 3 March 2009. The ISU gave a presentation on the Biological Weapons Convention.

• A member of the ISU attended the Workshop on the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1540 in Doha, Qatar from 8 to 11 March 2009. During the meeting, the ISU made the presentation on Capacity Building under the Biological Weapons Convention.

• At the event 'Export Control for Biological Materials in the Kyrgyz Republic: An International Workshop' held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on 18-19 March 2009, a member of the ISU gave a presentation on the Biological Weapons Convention.

• Second Meeting of the Knowledge Management System on CBRN trafficking in South-East Europe and the Caucasus, United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), the Hague, Netherlands, 18-19 March 2009.

• At BioSysBio: Synthetic Biology, Systems Biology and Bioinformatics, held in Cambridge, UK from 23-25 March 2009 a member of the ISU took part in a panel discussion on 'Perspectives on Synthetic Biology: Ethics, Public Engagement, Biosecurity and more' and gave a selected presentation on Why Secure Synthetic Biology.

• International Symposium on Biosecurity and Biosafety: Future Trends and Solutions, Milan, italy from 25-27 March 2009. A member of the ISU gave a presentation on the BWC - Bridging the Gap.

• 1540 Implementation Workshop in the Hague, the Netherlands, 26-27 March 2009. The head of the ISU gave a presentation on Lessons from the Implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention.

• Biosafety and Biosecurity International Conference 2009, Casablanca. Morocco, 2-3 April 2009. A member of the ISU accompanied the chairman where he made remarks on the Role of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.

• BioFine 2009: Applied Industrial Synthetic Biology in Europe, Freiburg, Germany, 16-17 April 2009. A member of the ISU made the presentation Why Secure Synthetic Biology?

• Improving Global Capacity for Disease Surveillance: The International Health Regulations and the 2009 Biological Weapons Convention Intersessional Process, organised by the US National Academies of Science and the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington D.C., USA on 8 July 2009. A member of the ISU made a presentation on Global Health Security and the Biological Weapons Convention.

• Strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention, organised by the New America Foundation, Global Green USA, and Physicians for Social Responsibility, Washington D.C, USA on 8 July 2009. A member of the ISU made a few opening remarks and participated in a discussion, video footage of the entire event can be found online.

• Opportunities and Challanges in the Emerging Field of Synthetic Biology, organised by the US National Academies of Science, UK Royal Society and the OECD in Washington D.C. from 9-10 July 2009.

• Building Bridges Around Building Genomes, organised by the US Department of Justice, Department of State and Department of Health and Human Services in San Francisco from 3-5 August 2009. A member of the ISU made a presentation on Securing Modern Biology.

• Black Ice 2, an International Bioterrorism Response Cooperation Exercise organised by the US Department of State and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in Montreux, Switzerland from 7-8 September 2009. Press releases for the exercise were released by both Switzerland and the United States.

• BTWC Regional Awareness Raising Seminar and Capacity-Building Workshop, funded by the Canadian Global Partnership Program through the International Science and Technology Center, and organized with cooperation from the BWC ISU in Astana, Kazakhstan from 16-17 September 2009. Members of the ISU made a series of presentations on The International Response to Biological Threats, Components of National Implementation, The BTWC Intersessional Programme, Aims of this Workshop, Acting as a National Contact Point, and An introduction to the BTWC Confidence-building Measures.

• Preventing and Mitigating the Next Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons, Wilton Park Conference, UK, 25-27 September 2009. The ISU attended this meeting in the place of the Chairman and made a presentation on Is the BWC Losing its Relevance?

• A Comprehensive Approach to Combating Illicit Trafficking, organized by the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis (IFPA) and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), in cooperation with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and NATO, Geneva, Switzerland, 28-29 September 2009. The ISU participated in the meeting.

• UNSC Resolution 1540 in the Gulf Region: Challenges for the Future. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 5-6 October 2009. The ISU gave a presentation on the BWC and its relationship to UNSCR 1540.

• Workshop on the Biological Weapons Convention, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 20-21 October 2009. The ISU assisted with the organisation of the meeting, and gave presentations on: the Biological Weapons Threat; Responding to the Threat: the BWC and SCR 1540; Assistance, Cooperation and Coordination; Scientific and Technological Developments; as well as Regional Perspectives: the BWC in the Middle East.

• Sustainable Scientists Engagement Worldwide: Opportunities to Prevent Proliferation by Enhancing Best Practice and Professional Responsibility, organised by the International Working Group - Landau Network-Centro Volta, Rome, Italy, 26 October 2009. The ISU gave a presentation on the role of the BWC in assuring the safe spread of biological technology and knowledge.

• Risk Governance of Synthetic Biology, International Risk Governance Council, Geneva, Switzerland, 26-27 October 2009. The ISU attended the event and chaired a session on the risks posed by synthetic biology.

• DIY Biology Safety & Security Informal Discussion Meeting, Boston, USA, 30 October 2009. The ISU participated in this event.

• International Genetically Engineered Machine cometition (iGem) 2009 International Jamboree, Boston, USA, 30 October – 2 November 2009. The ISU participated in this event and briefed participants on security issues related with synthetic biology.

• International Association for Synthetic Biology, Boston, USA, 3 November 2009. The ISU participated in this event.

• International Workshop on Overcoming Challenges in Building Capacity for Disease Surveillance, Detection, Diagnosis and Containment, Brussels, Belgium, 11-12 November 2009. The ISU co-hosted the event and made a series of contributions.

• Workshop on Promoting Education on Dual Use Issues in the Life sciences, organised by the Inter-academy Panel on International Issues, the International Union of Microbiological Societies and the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Polish National Academies, Warsaw, Poland, 16-17 November 2009.

• Workshop on Rinderpest Virus and Vaccines Sequestration, organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health in Rome, Italy, 30 November - 2 December 2009. A member of the ISU made a presentation on The BWC and Eradicated Diseases.

• Workshop of the Pugwash Study Group on the Implementation of the Chemical and Biological Weapons Conventions, organised by Pugwash Geneva in Geneva, Switzerland, 5-6 December 2009.

• Options and proposals to strengthen the Confidence-Building Measures mechanism of the Biological Weapons Convention, a workshop organised by the Geneva Forum with the governments of Germany, Norway and Switzerland, Geneva, Switzerland, 12 December 2009.

2010
2011
2012