Written question asked by Harry Cohen (Labour) on Monday, 2 April 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 10 April 2001. It was answered by Brian Wilson (Labour) on Tuesday, 10 April 2001 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to attend the negotiations in Geneva on a protocol to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention. - Inc figure.

Answer: Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to attend the negotiations in Geneva on a protocol to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention. [156968] Mr. Wilson: A total of seven weeks of meetings are scheduled for the rest of this year in Geneva on a Protocol to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). The Protocol is an important arms control objective for the Untied Kingdom and Foreign Office Ministers have already addressed the BWC ad hoc group on two separate occasions to stress the need for a successful outcome to the negotiations. We are currently assessing the contents of the draft Protocol which was tabled by the Chair of the BWC ad hoc group (Ambassador Toth, Hungary) on 30 March, and also await first reactions for the other countries involved. We welcome the appearance of the text at this stage of the negotiations. We will consider ministerial attendance as negotiations proceed.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 156968; 366 c530W
Session: 2000-01
Subjects: Chemical and biological warfare Biological weapons Arms control Treaties Verification Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk