WANA (Aug 13) – A total of 129 member states of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) have issued a joint statement at the Working Group on Strengthening the Convention in Geneva, condemning Israel’s attacks on Iranian pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing facilities and reaffirming Iran’s right to the peaceful use of biological technology.

 

The statement, endorsed by members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and other BWC parties, came in response to recent Israeli strikes on Iranian medicine and vaccine production sites. It emphasized the “legitimate right” of all states parties to use biological agents for peaceful purposes, including medicine and vaccine production, and condemned any threat or use of force against such facilities.

 

The NAM group and its partners also voiced deep concern over unilateral coercive measures and sanctions imposed on certain member states, including Palestine, describing them as violations of obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law. Such measures, they warned, disrupt or hinder access to medicines, medical equipment and services, and the procurement, purchase, and delivery of vaccines and essential raw materials.

 

The statement called on states imposing unilateral coercive measures to immediately comply with their obligations under Article 10 of the BWC and lift, without delay, any restrictions—direct or indirect—that impede the full exchange of equipment, materials, and scientific and technical information for the peaceful use of biological agents and toxins.

 

The Biological Weapons Convention, adopted in 1972 and in force since 1975, is a multilateral treaty aimed at prohibiting the development, production, and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons. It was the first disarmament treaty to completely ban an entire category of weapons of mass destruction.

 

Israel is not a party to the BWC or any other major international treaty banning weapons of mass destruction, and continues to develop and stockpile biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons.