US Mission Geneva

In an age when people and diseases cross borders with growing ease, bioweapons are a transnational threat, and the United States is taking steps to protect against them with transnational action. Along the margins of the BWC Review Conference, the U.S. Delegation hosted three events that provided an overview of the U.S. approach to several critical BWC areas.

On December 8, 2011, the U.S. Delegation to the 7th Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention Review Conference (BWC RevCon) hosted a side event on the United States Biodefense Program open to all conference participants

President Obama has made it a top goal of his Administration to halt the spread of weapons of mass destruction, because we view the risk of a bioweapons attack as both a serious national security challenge and a foreign policy priority.

As you know, this Administration has placed a premium on arms control and nonproliferation. The Biological Weapons and Toxin Convention – is one of the three pillars of the global WMD regime. It is the first treaty to ban an entire class of weapons, that is, biological and toxin weapons, entered into force in 1975.

New START Treaty Data on U.S. Strategic Offensive Arms Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC December 1, 2011   The New START Treaty specifies that each party to the Treaty may release to the public data on its own strategic offensive arms. Accordingly, today the United States has made available the unclassified U.S. [...]

Secretary of State Clinton wiill deliver the U.S. National Statement at the 7th Biological Weapons Review Conference (BWC RevCon) in Geneva. The BWC RevCon, held once every five years, plays a critical role in reviewing the treaty and charting next steps. Formed in 1975, the BWC is the premier international forum that addresses biological threats, and is evolving to meet changing world needs.

The protocol would have led to the immediate prohibition of many millions of cluster munitions; placed the remaining cluster munitions under a detailed set of restrictions and regulations; and subjected member states to a detailed list of additional obligations on issues such as clearance, transparency and destruction, all of which would have led to a substantial humanitarian impact on the ground.

We welcome today’s resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors to hold Iran accountable for its failure to cooperate on its nuclear program. The world has sent a clear and unified message to Tehran that it is deeply troubled by the evidence revealed in last week’s report by Director General Amano.

The United States commends the Director General and his Secretariat for their carefully prepared report, which is based on years of investigatory work, document analysis, and interviews with key personnel. The President has stated on multiple occasions that we are determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.