Thailand joined other Friends of the Chair of the Working Group on Strengthening BWC in co-hosting the online webinar series on “National Implementation”

On 8 May 2024, Australia, Indonesia, Panama, Uganda and Thailand, as Friends of the Chair of the Working Group on Strengthening the Biological Weapon Convention (BWC), together with UNIDIR and UNODA co-hosted a webinar series on “National Implementation”.

Ambassador Favio Soares Damico, Permanent Representative of Brazil to the Conference of Disarmament, the Chair of the Working Group in his remarks highlighted how National Implementation has been a beneficiary of the Working Group’s ongoing efforts to reinforce the BWC in today’s security situation. Speakers included Sonia Drobysz, Senior Researcher at UNIDIR WMD Programme, James Petit, Legal Officer at UNODA, Janes Mokgadi, Deputy Director of CBNR Weapon Management Authority of Botswana, and Maria Garzon Maceda, CBW Project Coordinator of UNIDIR WMD Programme.    

During the session, panelists emphasized the relationship and interlinkages between the National Implementation and other BWC obligations, including assistance, compliance and CBM, as well as its complementarity to other cooperations and commitments under other frameworks, including UNSC Resolution 1540 and World Health Organization.

Speakers also exchanged views on scope of the National Implementation in national and regional contexts, challenges in the implementation and means to strengthen the National Implementation, especially in the context of emerging technologies and risks, including through dynamic interpretation of BWC, knowledge sharing measures and BWC NIM database.

Thailand and other Friends of the Chair will continue their works in transparent and inclusive manner and remain open to facilitate and coordinate in the Working Group Process.

Record of the webinar is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8jp2DZ-e-A&t=9s&ab_channel=UNIDIR%E2%80%94theUNInstituteforDisarmamentResearch