Derailment of the Fifth Working Group of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention - The Council on Strategic Risks

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## Derailment of the Fifth Working Group of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention

[January 16, 2025](https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2025/01/16/derailment-of-the-fifth-working-group-of-the-biological-and-toxin-weapons-convention/)

[CSR Blog](https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/category/publication/csr-blog/), [Nolan Center](https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/category/nolan-center/)

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Ongoing advances in synthetic biology and bioengineering are substantially degrading constraints on the development, research, and use of biological weapons. At the same time, nations are chipping away at the cornerstone of international efforts to prevent the misuse of biological science and technology, the [Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention](https://front.un-arm.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/BWC-text-English-1.pdf) (BWC).

In 2022, the [BWC’s Ninth Review Conference](https://unidir.org/whats-next-the-ninth-biological-weapons-review-conference-and-beyond/) established a Working Group to strengthen the Convention’s effectiveness and improve its implementation. The fifth meeting of the working group convened from December 2-13 2024, but ended with a regrettable conclusion in which a single States Party, during the final evening of deliberations, unilaterally undermined the noteworthy progress achieved throughout 2024.

This article provides a synopsis and brief explanation of the major technical issues faced by the fifth working group and offers practicable recommendations for making progress—with an emphasis on iteratively strengthening the convention through the incremental adoption of capabilities.

## Summary of Deliberations

Since August 2024, when the fourth BWC Working Group held productive discussions, significant progress has been made on many elements of the intercessional agenda. As such, the optimistic sentiment was tangible from the outset of December’s meeting and was reflected in the ambitious agenda.

Opening the meeting, Working Group Chair Brazilian Ambassador Frederico S. Estrada Meyer called for action, stating, “The time to act is now. Procrastination is the ally of stagnation. The BWC is at a crossroads. It can either solidify its role as the cornerstone of international biosecurity or risk being overshadowed by more agile actors.”

At the end of the first week, Ambassador Meyer disseminated a pragmatic proposal for establishing an international cooperation and assistance (ICA) mechanism, and a science and technology (S&T) mechanism with provisional mandates. These long-discussed ideas were front-loaded to promote productive dialogues to inform deliberations on other issues (notably compliance and verification). By strategically sequencing the Work

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