The Ministry of Defense of Brazil (MD) participated, until December 17th, at the UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, in the 7th Session of the Working Group for Strengthening the Convention on the Prohibition of Biological Weapons (CPAB) and Meeting of States Parties. The Ministry is represented by the Secretariat of Defense Products (Seprod), responsible for monitoring international agreements on sensitive goods, disarmament, and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.


As a signatory to the Convention on the Prohibition of Biological Weapons – CPAB, the Ministry of Defense is part of the Brazilian delegation at the Convention’s technical and deliberative meetings. According to Seprod, this participation allows, through technical advice, “the country to continue interacting constructively with the international community, being recognized and respected as a responsible partner in initiatives against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the misuse of sensitive technologies.”

The meeting’s debates are guided by themes such as international cooperation and assistance; development in science and technology; transparency and trust-building; compliance and verification; national implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC); and financial, institutional, and organizational arrangements.

                                  

BWC

The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) is the first multilateral disarmament agreement to prohibit the development, production, stockpiling, transfer, and acquisition of biological and toxic weapons, and to mandate the destruction of existing stockpiles.

The Working Group for Strengthening the BWC discusses, among other topics, the control of exports of sensitive goods with applications in the biological field, the impact of new technologies on the development of biological weapons, and international cooperation in assistance, preparedness, and capacity building in the face of threats from pathogens that could affect human and animal health and the environment.

                                                Source: Brazilian Ministry of Defense, with adaptations