US urged to obey weapons convention

GENEVA－A senior Chinese diplomat on Wednesday urged the United States to fulfill its obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention, or BWC, in a transparent and responsible manner, and to support multilateral efforts for restarting negotiations on a verification protocol.

At the BWC's Meeting of Experts on the Institutional Strengthening of the Convention, Li Song, China's ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary for disarmament affairs, stressed that the implementation of the convention in a comprehensive and effective way is in the common interests of the vast number of countries and the international community.

"China believes that in order to institutionally strengthen the convention, it is imperative to reestablish the overall goal of establishing an effective verification mechanism and restart negotiations on a verification protocol," Li said.

The Chinese diplomat said that the US carries out the most bio-military activities; it has biodefense bases at home as well as overseas, with more than 200 bio-laboratories all over the world.

The serious lack of transparency in regard to these facilities and their potential security risks that cannot be ignored have always been a major concern of the international community, Li said.

"For 20 years, the United States has been opposed to establishing a verification mechanism of the convention, and has single-handedly blocked the resumption of negotiations for this purpose," he said. "We urge the United States to reconsider its position, and support the multilateral efforts for restarting negotiations on a verification protocol."

The Ninth Review Conference of the BWC, to be held next year, is an important opportunity to further strengthen the mechanism of the convention from an institutional perspective, Li said.

"We should fully affirm the central role of the convention in eliminating the threat of biological weapons, strengthening global biosafety governance, and promoting peaceful use and international cooperation," he said.

Xinhua