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PGA’s Global Parliamentary Campaign to Promote
Universality and Implementation of the Biological and Toxin
Weapons Convention (BTWC)
Contact Us 132 Nassau Street, Suite 1419 New York, NY 10038, USA Phone: +1-212-687-7755 Email: [email protected]
Peter Barcroft
Director, Peace & Democracy Programme, PGA
ABOUT PGA
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PGA was established in 1978 in Washington, D.C. by a group of concerned Parliamentarians from around the world to take collective, coordinated and cohesive actions on global problems, which could not be successfully addressed by any one government or parliament acting alone. Founded during the Cold War era, an early focus and priority of the organization was mobilization of Parliamentarians worldwide in support of nuclear disarmament.
Today, and reflecting the more complex and interconnected world in which it now lives, PGA and its members worldwide devotes their time and energies to promoting human rights, international justice and accountability, advocating for conflict prevention mechanisms and security sector reform as well as promoting gender, equality and non-discrimination.
ABOUT PGA
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In 1984, PGA was instrumental in organizing the Six-Nation Peace Initiative, led by the Heads of States and Governments of Argentina, Greece, India, Mexico, Sweden and Tanzania. This Initiative has been widely-credited with making an important contribution leading to the adoption of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) 12 years later.
For The Six Nations Initiative, PGA received the first Indira Gandhi Peace Price in 1986. PGA played a role in the genesis of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (CWC) and its Membership made contributions in securing several ratifications of the CWC, facilitating its entry into force.
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PGA's Global
Parliamentary Campaign
for the Universality and
Implementation of the
Biological and Toxin
Weapons Convention
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Contact Us PGA Headquarters: 132 Nassau Street, Suite 1419 New York, NY 10038, USA Phone: +1-212-687-7755 | Email: [email protected]
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Countries where PGA Members, including in one instance a sitting Foreign
Minister, played a central role in the recent ratification, over the past two years,
of the Biological Weapons Convention:
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ANGOLA
NEPAL
GUINEA
LIBERIA
SAMOA
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United Nations Security Council Resolution
1540 (2004)
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PGA's Global
Parliamentary Campaign
for the Universality and
Implementation of the
Biological and Toxin
Weapons Convention
of
Contact Us PGA Headquarters: 132 Nassau Street, Suite 1419 New York, NY 10038, USA Phone: +1-212-687-7755 | Email: [email protected]
www.pgaction.org
1. Mobilizing PGA Members of Parliament (MPs) and other concerned
Parliamentarians worldwide who possess a demonstrated track record
of success in promoting signature and ratification of international
treaties to also engage in promoting Universality and Implementation
of the BTWC
2. International, Regional and National Parliamentary events to foster
peer-to-peer dialogue and to provide essential platforms for sharing of
respective experiences in promoting Universality and Implementation
of the BTWC
3. Extensive, continuous provision of technical/legal advice to PGA
Member MPs worldwide to better equip them in their advocacy and
other law-making initiatives in support of Universality and
Implementation of the BTWC.
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37th Annual Parliamentary Forum
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on the topic of
Role of Parliamentarians in
Support of Peace and Security
in San Salvador, El Salvador
from 30 Nov - 1 Dec, 2015
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This Forum took place on the
40th anniversary of the entry
into force of the BWC and
served to generate substantial
political will among lawmakers
in advance of the 8th BWC
Review Conference, which took
place in late 2016.
Regional Africa
Parliamentary Workshop
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in Freetown Sierra Leone in
March 2017
Participating Countries:
Central African Republic, Chad,
Democratic Republic of Congo,
Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya,
Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra
Leone, Somalia and Tanzania
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High-Level Officials: UN Resident
Representative, a Representative
from UNDP, the High
Commissioners from Canada and
Nigeria, as well as representatives
from the UK High Commission and
Embassy of the United States, the
Chief of the Implementation
Support Unit (ISU) of the Biological
Weapons Convention, as well as the
Sierra Leone CBRN National Focal
Point of the European Union
Chemical, Biological, Radiological
and Nuclear (CBRN) Centre of
Excellence (CoE) Initiative.
Regional Latin America Parliamentary
Workshop
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in Santiago, Chile in May 2017
Participating Countries:
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile,
Colombia, Costa Rica,
Dominican Republic, Haiti,
Honduras, Paraguay, Uruguay
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High-Level Officials:
Coordination Officer, on behalf of
the UN Resident Coordinator, the
Ambassador of Canada to Chile, the
Chief of the Implementation
Support Unit (ISU) of the Biological
Weapons Convention, as well as the
Chilean Army Major, and National
Focal Point on the BTWC in Chile.
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Over 90% of all Participants in
both these Workshops in Africa
and Latin America, working in
close consultation with us in the
PGA Secretariat, have taken
substantive, verifiable steps to
promote ratification and/or
implementation of the BTWC in
their respective countries,
subsequent to their
participation in these
Workshops supported by the
Government of Canada.
PGA also organized 2 Field Missions to Haiti, in February and June of
2017- sending a delegation headed by prominent MPs from the
Caribbean region, accompanied by PGA expert staff, who met with
high level Governmental and Parliamentary officials in Port-au-Prince,
including the Presidents of both Chambers of the Haitian Parliament to
promote the ratification of the BTWC. I am pleased to report that as a
result of these 2 Missions, the Government of Haiti has approved
ratification of the BTWC, transmitted it to the National Assembly in
March of this year and we are hopeful the National Assembly will act
on it, with the encouragement of PGA Members, in the next session of
Parliament in a few months’ time. As many of you are already aware,
Haiti is the only country in the Americas which has not yet ratified the
BTWC and we hope that ‘this final piece in the jigsaw can be found’
within the next 6-12 months.
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In The Dominican Republic, for
example, PGA Executive
Committee member, Dip. Victor
Bisonó Haza authored important
legislation passed in the
Dominican Republic in 2016
which, inter alia, penalized, for
the first time in his country, the
manufacture, usage and
development of Weapons of
Mass Destruction, including
Biological Weapons.
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In Chad, under the initiative of PGA Member Hon. Theophile Yombombe,
informed PGA in mid-July of 2017, that the Defense and Security Committee
has sent a formal written recommendation to the Government of Chad calling
for Accession by the Republic of Chad to the BTWC. In addition to sharing with
PGA a copy of this Resolution from the National Assembly of Chad, Hon.
Yomombe has also kindly provided copies of new draft legislation penalizing
usage of weapons of Mass Destruction, including Biological Weapons.
Biological Weapons
Convention
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Adopted 45 years ago
Members of Parliament are vital
for implementation of
International Treaties such as
the BTWC and related
legislation.
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Accession by The
Independent State of
Samoa to the BTWC
under the strong
leadership of PGA
Member, Associate
Government Minister for
Natural Resources and
Environment
(MNRE),Hon. Taefu Lemi
Taefu, MP.
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You may well ask how, or what, is
the relevance of PGA’s BTWC
Campaign in the context of the
priorities of the World
Organization for Animal Health,
within the thematic framework
of this Global Conference?
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In the United States,
Government efforts to control
agro-terrorism are improving.
The US Agriculture Department
has defined Agro-terrorism as a
"deliberate introduction of an
animal or plant disease for the
purpose of generating fear,
causing economic loss, or
undermining social stability,"
according to a recent
Congressional Research Service
report.
As stated by the Director of US
Homeland Security "Animal,
plant and human health are
inextricably linked, but
agriculture, food and
emergency response sectors do
not traditionally coordinate and
communicate “ - Director of US
Homeland Security
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THANK YOU
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