50th anniversary of the Biological Weapons Convention India hosted the international conference “50 Years of BWC: Strengthening Biosecurity for the Global South” in New Delhi to mark the 50th anniversary of the Biological Weapons Convention’s entry into force. About Biological Weapons Convention The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) is the world’s first multilateral disarmament treaty banning an entire category of weapons of mass destruction. It prohibits the development, production, stockpiling, acquisition, transfer and use of biological and toxin weapons. Genesis: Negotiated in Geneva, Switzerland within the Eighteen Nation Committee on Disarmament (ENDC) and Conference of the Committee on Disarmament (CCD) from 1969 until 1971. Opened for signature in 1972 and entered into force in 1975. Membership: Almost universal membership with 188 States Parties (India signed and ratified in 1974) and 4 Signatory States (Egypt, Haiti, Somalia, Syrian Arab Republic). 5 States- Israel, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea and Kiribati have neither signed nor acceded to the Convention.
