Overview

The 2015 Meeting of States Parties was held in the Palais des Nations from 14 to 18 December 2015. The meeting opened at 10:00 on Monday 14 December in Room XVIII and closed on Friday 18 December.

The Meeting of States Parties was chaired by Ambassador Mazlan Muhammad of Malaysia. In accordance with the decision of the Seventh Review Conference, the meeting considered the work of theMeeting of Experts (10 - 14 August 2015) on the three standing agenda items (cooperation and assistance, with a particular focus on strengthening cooperation and assistance under Article X; review of developments in the field of science and technology related to the Convention; and strengthening national implementation), as well as the biennial item of how to strengthen implementation of Article VII.

The Meeting also approved arrangements for the Eighth Review Conference and its Preparatory Committee which will take place in 2016.

Information in the following sections will be updated as it becomes available.

Side Events

Monday 14 December

13.00 - 15.00 Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and US National Academies of Sciences - Implementation in Action: Contributions of ASEAN Scientists and Scientific Organizations to the BWC - Room XXIV - The flyer can be found here.
The list of ASEAN Region participants can be found here.

Tuesday 15 December

9.00 - 10.00 The Hamburg Research Group and the Harvard Sussex Programme - Let's talk about compliance: measures, methods, and modalities - Room XXIV - The flyer can be found here

9.00 - 10.00 Bradford University, UK - Steps Toward Effective Biological Security Education - Room XXV - The flyer with the key messages of the presentations can be found here

13.00 - 15.00 Canada - National implementation of the BWC: development of a culture of compliance among scientists - Room XXIV

13.00 - 15.00 UNIDIR and France - 1925–2015: The Geneva Protocol at 90 - Room XXV - The flyer can be found here

Wednesday 16 December

9.00 - 10.00 Switzerland - Strengthening the UNSGM: an update - Room XXIV

9.00 - 10.00 The Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative  - Assessing the Biothreat, Proceeding Safely - Room XXV - The flyer can be found here

13.00 - 15.00 Royal Society and International Academy Panel - Trends in science and technology that impact the BWC - Room XXIV

13.00 - 15.00 UNICRI and the Philippines - Putting Biosafety and Biosecurity under the Microscope: Elements for an International Approach to Reinforce Capabilities and Address Future Risks - Room XXV - The flyer can be found here

Thursday 17 December

9.00 - 10.00 The United States of America - Lessons Learned and Implications of the Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak for the BWC: Update on Research Project to Inform Recommendations for the 8th Review Conference - Room XXIV - The flyer can be found here

9.00 - 10.00 France and India - Side event by France and India on the Proposal for establishment of a database for assistance in the framework of Article VII of the BWC - Room XXV

13.00 - 15.00 Green Cross International - Biosafety and Security: Laboratory Procedures and Personnel Ethics in Developing Countries - Room XXIV

13.00 - 15.00 Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United States of America - BTWC BENELUX Peer Review: Lessons learned & presentation of new initiatives by Germany and the US/Canada - Room XXV - The flyer can be found here

Friday 18 December

9.00-10.00 Principal Investigator Global Emerging Pathogens Treatment Consortium (GET) - The West African Ebola story from an African academic response perspective. Biosecurity concerns, lessons learned relevant to the BWC and capacity building initiatives - Room XXV - The flyer can be found here

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