1-5 December 2014
The 2014 Meeting of States Parties was held in the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The Polish delegation was comprised of seven representatives, including prof. Ryszard Słomski, who acted as a delegate and a non-governmental organisation representative.
In accordance with the decision of the Seventh Review Conference, the issues considered at the meeting encompassed: cooperation and assistance, with a particular focus
on strengthening cooperation and assistance under Article X of the Convention; review of developments in the field of science and technology related to the Convention;
and strengthening national implementation, as well as implementation of the decisions of the Article VII, discussed at the Meeting of Experts in August 2014.
The standpoint of the Biosecurity Working Group of IAP was presented by Jo Husbands (National Academy of Sciences – USA) on the first day of the conference IAP Statement BWC MSP December 2014. It refered to the following issues: the need to exchange the equipment, materials and technological information connected with the use of biological and toxin substances for peaceful purposes; profits resulting from science development and problems connected with the potential use against the Convention. The States Parties agreed to exchange good practice and experience, strengthen national institutions and exchange good practice with proper regional and sub-regional organisations in order to implement the Convention on national level. They also emphasized that the discussion about strengthening the ability of the States Parties to provide help on the basis of Article VII is of great value and should be continued, taking into consideration the experience gained at fighting off infectious diseases, what is especially important in view of the Ebola virus epidemy in West Africa.