On 25 August, UNLIREC and the Government of Peru held a working meeting on the national implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540. This activity brought together 23 representatives from 12 state entities, including Ministries and other institutions, such as: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Defense, Health, Agriculture, Justice and Human Rights, Interior, Environment, Production, INDECI, among others.
The objective of the session was to present to the working table the main comments from UNLIREC’s legal team regarding the “Bill on the Prohibition of Biological and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction”. The strengthening of the national regulatory framework in the field of non-proliferation of biological weapons was considered a priority by Peru in its Roadmap on the implementation of Resolution 1540. This activity is part of UNLIREC’s 1540 assistance package currently in execution thanks to the financial support from Canada.
As a result, the representatives from the different sectors began the debate on the basic issues to be considered in the preliminary analysis of the bill and its effective adaptation to the international obligations assumed by Peru in the field of non-proliferation of biological arms. In addition, basis were set for the next working meeting, the second in a series aimed at accompanying the Government of Peru in its national efforts to align and adapt the national legal framework with the mandates of the BWC and Resolution 1540.