This map layer shows the states parties to the Biological Weapons Convention.
The international Biological Weapons Convention (full title Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction—B(T)WC—bans the development, production and stockpiling of biological weapons for military use. The Convention was developed by United Nations member states and opened for signature in 1972. It entered into force in 1975 and can be considered a further step towards the elimination of biological weapons—the first having been the Geneva Protocol of 1925 that only banned the use of biological weapons as a method of warfare—forbidding research (with the exception of defensive research, see infotext), production and stockpiling of these weapons. All the countries that have ratified this convention also undertake to destroy any stocks they may have. However, no agreement could be found on an inspection system. It has also been impossible so far to incorporate disclosure requirements and controls into the Treaty through an additional protocol. By June 2013, 181 countries had ratified the Convention.
Members of each ABC / NBC weapons agreement 2018
The graph shows the number of members of each NBC arms control agreement (early 2018).
Sources: UNODA 2018, OPCW 2018, CTBTO 2018
© picture-alliance / dpa
Ban without checks: The Biological Weapons Convention and its loopholes
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Biological Weapons Convention on 16 December 1971. Its full title is “Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) Weapons and Toxin Weapons and their Destruction”.
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