Madame Chair,

India congratulates you on assumption of the Chair of the Meeting of Experts 4 on Assistance, Response and Preparedness.  You termed it as a weighty item.  I have been trying to shed weight for past 1 year, and yet am struck with a weighty item.  Notwithstanding that, my delegation assures you of our support and cooperation in the achievement of tangible outcomes in this important area of our work.  Our sincere appreciation to the BWC ISU, under the leadership of Mr. Daniel Feakes, which has done a commendable job over the year, in spite of the circumstances, to keep the momentum of work under Convention.  A special word for Mr. Alex Lampalzer who has worked with us on Article VII database.

Madame Chair,

You noted that there is broad consensus that Article VII needs to be operationalized.  It is in this context, I am honored to present on behalf of France and India, the joint India-France proposal on the Establishment of a Database for Assistance in the framework of Article VII of the Biological Weapons Convention.  This is not a new proposal and dates back to the Prep Com to the Eighth Review Conference of the BWC in 2016.

The India-France database proposal draws from Article VII which reads as follows:

‘Each State Party to this Convention undertakes to provide or support assistance, in accordance with United Nations Charter, to any Party to the Convention which so requests, if the Security Council decides that such Party has been exposed to danger as a result of violation of the Convention’

It is heartening that these provisions have never been invoked.  And we wish that we don’t need to invoke them ever.

However, one thing is amply clear: that Article VII is one of the key provisions of the BWC.

• It provides a tool for State Parties to request and receive assistance in case they have been exposed to danger as a result of a violation of the Convention’s provisions.

• It is a provision for international solidarity as it foresees State Parties to assist one another in case the requesting State has been exposed to danger as a result of violation of the Convention.

• The deterrence value of Article VII cannot be overemphasized, as any hostile entity is signaled that an attack on one party is an attack on all and the target won’t be left to fend for itself but receive support and assistance from fellow States.

• Thus, it is a disincentive to the contravention or breach of the Convention and deters the potential use of biological weapon by diminishing their military utility.

• Such a database will serve as an important incentive to universalization of the Convention.

Madame Chair,

The Covid-19 pandemic has been a steep learning curve to policymakers and practitioners all over the world.  It has demonstrated that biological events can be disruptive and devastating for humans, animals and plant.  The importance of finding practical solutions to implement Article VII of the Convention and to be ready and prepared is evident.

This is precisely where the India-France joint proposal for establishment of a database for assistance under Article VII comes in.

The proposal identifies the gap between the need for and lack of institutional and operative structures to give effect to Article VII.  India and France have jointly proposed a possible blueprint, a pathway to bridge the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of Assistance, Response and Preparedness.

Madame Chair,

Let me give a brief introduction to the Proposal, after which my distinguished colleague from the delegation of France Mr. Mikail Griffon will take over.

• As you might recall that, while the Eighth Review Conference supported the establishment of the database, it did not provide a specific mandate for establishing the database, and it has therefore not yet been created.  Since then, several discussions on the proposal have taken place during the intersessional period.

• The proposal is for the BWC ISU to establish, administer and maintain a database on a secure web-based platform and to be hosted on the BWC ISU website.

• It will be open to all State Parties and allow matching specific offers and requests for assistance.

• It will respond to the need for developing effective measures and coordination with relevant international organizations.

• State Parties can benefit from assistance on awareness, information exchange, national and international preparedness, and capacity-building.

• Assistance can be in the forms of emergency assistance, containment measures and recovery assistance.

• Considering the dire financial situation of the Convention, the establishment of a voluntary trust fund under Article VII is also envisaged under the proposal.

Similar mechanisms for assistance database exist in relevant international organizations, which provide valuable lessons for further fine tuning the Article VII database proposal.   In 2020, with the support of the BWC ISU, an analysis of lessons learnt from assistance databases utilized in relevant international organizations was conducted to identify and outline issues for further development and improvement of Article VII database proposal.

As part of further preparatory work, a series of 3 virtual workshops were conducted earlier this year, with the help of the BWC ISU, to identify and discuss in consultation with State Parties, international organizations and civil society, specific issues that remain to be addressed.  The workshops were well received by State Parties and provided an excellent opportunity to receive their views, expectations and technical inputs for the operationalization of the proposal.

During the first workshop, presentations were made by the IAEA, WHO and OPCW among others and key findings of analysis of the existing databases were presented to participants.  We are grateful to their experts for sharing their knowledge and experiences.

During the second workshop, a technical one, specific topics requiring attention with a view to operationalize the database were discussed. 

During the third workshop, a summary of preliminary findings and views expressed during the previous sessions were presented.  A live polling was also conducted to gain further feedback from participants.

My distinguished French colleague will now present to you the Objectives and Contents of the proposed Article VII database as well as the proposed Modular Approach to Database Development.

Closing Remarks

Madame Chair,

I thank Mr. Mikail Griffon for presenting the important aspects for operationalization of the database.

As we have seen, interactive sessions and workshops have provided a valuable guidance to us for further development of the proposal.  Both India and France believe that a milestone approach comprising inclusive discussions with all States parties will make it truly representative and useful.We hope that at today's discussions at the Meeting of Experts, States parties can further contribute to enrich the proposal.  Based on the feedback obtained, India and France will jointly prepare an updated working paper, which could be further discussed during the upcoming Meeting of State Parties of the BWC.

The benefits accruing from the database far exceed the minimal financial implications to set it up.We hope that States Parties would be able to reach an agreement for establishing an Article VII database at the Ninth Review Conference.

Dear colleagues, Madame Chair,

India and France have co-authored the proposal but the proposal belongs to all of us.We, as State Parties, are uniquely placed to make a collective, tangible and impactful decision at the Ninth Review Conference in this regard.

India and France remain at your disposal to further clarify any issues and look forward to learning from you.

Thank you.