[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
[March 27, 2000]
[Page 540]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 540]]


Joint Statement by the Depositary States on the 25th Anniversary of 
Entry Into Force of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention
March 27, 2000

    On the twenty-fifth anniversary of the entry into force of the 
Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons Convention, the three 
Depositary States, the Russian Federation, The United Kingdom of Great 
Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America, reaffirm 
their belief in the continuing relevance and importance of the 
Convention. As we start a new century the principles and objectives of 
the Convention are an important international norm serving to prevent 
any country from developing, producing, stockpiling or obtaining the 
means to employ bacteriological, biological or toxin weapons as a means 
of warfare. As such the Convention remains one of the key elements of 
international security and stability.
    At its inception the Convention was a watershed international 
document, the first formal multilateral agreement to foreswear an entire 
class of weapons of mass destruction. Twenty five years later 143 States 
have acceded to it, a remarkable endorsement of the principles which it 
encompasses, and of the very important role it plays in the web of non-
proliferation and arms control treaties. We, as the Depositaries, take 
this opportunity to call on those states which have not yet ratified or 
acceded to the BWC to do so without delay, so that the prohibitions on 
possession and development of biological weapons become even more 
universal.
    The representatives of many States Parties are now engaged in work 
to strengthen the Convention. The aim is a Protocol that will create a 
regime to enhance confidence in compliance with the fundamental 
objectives of the Convention. This effort will bring the Convention into 
better alignment with the principles of other arms control agreements. 
As the terms of the mandate given to the Ad Hoc Group make clear the 
objective is ``to consider appropriate measures, including possible 
verification measures . . . . to be included, as appropriate, in a 
legally binding instrument.'' Successful achievement of an effective 
Protocol within the agreed timeframe must be the target of all States 
Parties. We pledge our own efforts to achieving this goal, and call upon 
all other States Parties to do likewise, and to accede to the Protocol 
once it is agreed.

 Note: An original was not available for verification of the content of 
this joint statement.