CONVENTION ON THE PROHIBITION OF
DEVELOPMENT, PRODUCTION AND STOCKPILING
OF BACTERIOLOGICAL (BIOLOGICAL) AND TOXIN
WEAPONS AND ON THEIR DESTRUCTION
Opened for signature on 10 April 1972 at London, Moscow and Washington
INTRODUCTORY NOTE: Deficiencies of the Geneva Protocol of 17 June 1925 (No. 13) and the wish to prohibit not only the use but also the production and stockpiling of biological and chemical weapons induced the UN General Assembly and the Committee on Disarmament to take up this question. The Convention was drafted by the Committee on Disarmament and recommended for adherence by resolution 2826 (XXVI) of the General Assembly on 16 December 1971. It is limited to biological weapons. The inclusion of chemical weapons proved impossible, as no agreement on international supervision could be attained (but see now No. 22). With regard to biological weapons, international supervision of the production and stockpiling of such weapons seemed to be dispensable as it is assumed that the use of such weapons would have no immediate military advantage.
Although the present Convention deals with questions of disarmament and does not belong to the law of armed conflicts in its strict sense it is included in this collection in view of its close relationship with the Geneva Protocol of 1925.
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 26 March 1975.
AUTHENTIC TEXTS: Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish. The English text below is reprinted from UNTS, Vol. 1015, 1976, pp. 164-169.
TEXT PUBLISHED IN: UNTS, Vol. 1015, 1976, pp. 164-241 (Chinese, Engl., French, Russ., Span.); United Nations General Assembly resolution, A/RES/2826 (XXVI), annex (Chinese, Engl., French, Russ., Span.); Arms Control and Disarmament Agreements: Texts and Histories of negotiations, Washington DC, US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, 1982, pp. 120-131 (Engl.); Status of Multilateral Arms Regulation and Disarmament Agreements, 4m edn., 1992, New York, United Nations, 1993 (sales No. E.93.IX.3 - Vol. I), pp. 191-216 (Engl.); Etat des accords multilatéraux en matière de désarmement et du contrôle des armements, 3ème édition, New York, Nations Unies, 1987 (F.88.LX.5), pp. 135-152 (French); Situación de los acuerdos multilaterales de regulacion de armamentos y de desarme, tercera edicion, 1987, Nueva York, Naciones Unidas, 1989 (S.89.LX.3), pp. 127-143 (Span.); UST, Vol. XXVI, Part 1, 1975, pp. 583-665 (Chinese, Engl., French, Russ., Span.); TIAS 8062; AJIL, Vol. 66, 1972, pp. 451-455 (Engl.); ILM, Vol. 11, No. 2, 1972, pp. 309-315 (Engl.); Goldblat, pp. 370-374 (Engl.); Ronzitti, pp. 623-639 (Engl.); Droit des conflits armés, pp. 145-170 (French); RGDIP, tome LXXVII, 1973, pp. 345-350 (French); Sbornik dogovorov SSSR, vyp. XXXI, 1975, pp. 58-61 (Russ.); Blatova, pp. 688-693
-135-