It was opened for signature on the 10th of April 1972 and entered into force on the 26th of March 1975. Japan signed the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in April 1972 and ratified it in June 1982.

Currently has 173 states parties and 109 signatories. Since the entry of the Convention, seven review conferences have taken place.

The BWC comprehensively prohibits the development, production, stockpiling, acquisition and retention of biological and toxin weapons, and at the same time requires all states parties to destroy their stockpiles of biological weapons. However, unlike the Convention on Chemical Weapons (CWC), the BWC does not contain a verification mechanism for monitoring compliance with the Convention by the states parties.  In order to ensure that states parties are complying with the Convention’s provisions and achieving its objectives, a Review Conference is convened every five years to review the operation of the BWC.

(Note) The BWC contains a preamble, 15 articles, and annexes. The main provisions are as follows:
Article I: To never under any circumstances develop, produce, stockpile, acquire or retain biological weapons;
Article II: To destroy or divert to peaceful purposes biological weapons and associated resources prior to joining;
Article III: Not to transfer, or in any way assist, encourage, or induce anyone else to acquire or retain biological weapons;
Article IV: To take any national measures necessary to implement the provisions of the BWC domestically;
Article V: To consult bilaterally and multilaterally to solve any problems with the implementation of the BWC;

Article VI: To request the UN Security Council to investigate alleged breaches of the BWC and to comply with its subsequent decisions;
Article X: To do all of the above in a way that encourages the peaceful uses of biological science and technology.

The Seventh Review Conference of the BWC was convened in Geneva in December 2011 adopted a final document which included an article-by-article review of the Convention, the content, and budget for the intersessional activities until the 2016 Review Conference. Agreement was reached on the following points:

• Establishing three standing agenda items of the next inter-sessional period:

  1. International cooperation and assistance

  2. Review of technology and development

  3. Strengthening national implementation

• Designating vice-Chairs (two)

• Launching a database for the purpose of promoting international cooperation and assistance

• Improving the content of confidence-building measures

• Extending the role of the Implementation Support Unit

7-25 November 2016 - Eighth Review Conference, Geneva

26-27 April and 8-12 August 2016 - Preparatory Committee for the Eighth Review Conference, Geneva