Biological Weapons Convention

Did You Know?

• The treaty's preamble states that the use of biological weapons would be 'repugnant to the conscience of mankind'.
• The BWC's Article VI mechanism for complaint of a violation has been invoked only once, by Russia in 2022, regarding the debunked Ukraine bioweapons conspiracy theory.
• The American biowarfare system was terminated in 1969 by President Nixon, when the budget was $300 million annually.

Treaty obligations

With only 15 articles, the BWC is relatively short. Article I is the core and requires each state 'never in any circumstances to develop, produce, stockpile or otherwise acquire or retain: microbial or other biological agents, or toxins whatever their origin or method of production, of types and in quantities that have no justification for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes; weapons, equipment or means of delivery designed to use such agents or toxins for hostile purposes or in armed conflict.'

This prohibition is known as the general-purpose criterion. Article II requires destruction or diversion to peaceful purposes of biological weapons and associated resources prior to joining. Article III bans the transfer, encouragement, assistance, or inducement of anyone in developing or acquiring any of the agents, toxins, weapons, or equipment. Article IV mandates national measures to implement the BWC domestically.

Article V provides for consultation and cooperation in solving problems related to the convention's objective or application. Article VI grants the right to request a UN Security Council investigation of alleged breaches and requires cooperation with any such investigation. Article VII obligates assistance to states exposed to danger from a violation. Article X facilitates the exchange of equipment, materials, and information for peaceful purposes.

Other articles address compatibility with the 1925 Geneva Protocol (Article VIII), negotiations to prohibit chemical weapons (Article IX), amendments (Article XI), Review Conferences (Article XII), duration (Article XIII, 1), withdrawal (Article XIII, 2), joining the convention, depositary governments, and conditions for entry into force (Article XIV, 1–5), and languages (Article XV).

Membership and joining the BWC

As of May 2025, 189 states have become party to the treaty. Four additional states have signed but not ratified the treaty: Egypt, Haiti, Somalia, and Syria. Another four states have neither signed nor acceded to the treaty: Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Israel. The BWC was opened for signature on 10 April 1972 with ceremonies in London, Moscow, and Washington, D.C., and it entered into force on 26 March 1975 after the ratification by 22 states, including its three depositary governments (the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States).

Verification and compliance

The convention's effectiveness has been limited due to insufficient institutional support and the absence of any formal verification regime to monitor compliance. The treaty has seen notable violations in offensive biological weapons programs of the Soviet Union, and of Ba'athist Iraq. Its Article VI mechanism for complaint of a violation has been invoked once, by Russia in 2022, regarding the debunked Ukraine bioweapons conspiracy theory.

Challenges

Advances in biotechnology have prompted calls for modernization of the BWC at periodic Review Conferences. For example, Filippa Lentzos and Gregory Koblentz pointed out in 2016 that 'crucial contemporary debates about new developments' for the BWC Review Conferences included 'gain-of-function experiments, potential pandemic pathogens, CRISPR and other genome editing technologies, gene drives, and synthetic biology.' Verification of the BWC is especially difficult because small quantities of biological agents can be quickly produced in militarily significant amounts, dual-use equipment and pathogens cannot be prohibited entirely, and agents can be rapidly eliminated.