Reference
Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction (BWC), (1975).
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction (BWC) of 10 April 1972 entered into force on 26 March 1975. It contains a comprehensive ban on biological weapons and, as the first multilateral treaty to outlaw one type of weapon in its entirety, is an important pillar of the international non-proliferation regime for weapons of mass destruction.
Currently, the BWC has 184 members, including all EU and NATO member states. Four states have signed but not yet ratified the BWC, namely Egypt, Haiti, Somalia and Syria. 9 states, mainly in Africa, the Middle East and the Pacific, have neither signed nor ratified the BWC. Germany continues to advocate for the accession of these countries and is pursuing the goal of universalisation.