Published: 09 December 2024

Last Updated: 28 May 2025

Mr. Chair,

As this is the first time that my delegation is taking the floor, I take this opportunity to congratulate you for assuming the role of the Chairperson of this Working Group. We are confident of your leadership to steer the work of the Working Group on strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). Please be assured of the fullest support and cooperation of Sri Lanka for the success of this session and to reach the desired outcome of the Working Group.

We thank the Friends of Chair on International Cooperation and Assistance (ICA) for the comprehensive work carried out to craft the ICA mechanism and leading the informal consultations for sharing views to enrich the proposed structure of the ICA mechanism.

As depicted in the Chair’s Roadmap, in the overall picture, it is pertinent to understand the importance of correlation between all proposed mechanisms under the Convention for its implementation at an optimal level.

Mr. Chair,

It may be noted that Article X of the Convention which calls for the ‘fullest possible exchange of equipment, materials and scientific and technological information for the use of bacteriological (biological) agents and toxins for peaceful purposes’ is vital and strengthens the other pillars of the Convention such as Science and Technology Mechanism, Assistance Response and Preparedness as well as Compliance and Verification. 

Mr. Chair,

Sri Lanka welcomes the proposed ICA Programme and the Guiding Principles together with the proposed International Cooperation and Assistance Fund (ICA Fund) for the financing of the ICA Programme and wishes to make the following observations;

1. The ICA Steering Committee which oversees the ICA Programme and the ICA Fund should be open to all State Parties and as proposed in the Terms of Reference, the composition should reflect a broad and proportional geographical distribution and gender balance.
2. Selection criteria to the Steering Committee should be very clear and transparent and the Steering Committee should operate in a transparent manner.
3. We also believe that the Terms of Reference (ToR) should be flexible to adjust to the operational aspects of the Steering Committee such as number of days and frequency of the meetings without leading to any stalemate on procedural issues
4. National ownership of any project or initiative under the ICA Mechanism is critical.
5. Enhancing global, regional and national capacities to respond to biological threats is equally important as the spread of such a threat or biological risk across borders causing devastation to the entire world can go beyond control. Therefore, Sri Lanka attaches great importance to effective integration of developing and least developed countries (LDC) into the proposed ICA Mechanism. Improving this mechanism in a pragmatic way to identify the specific needs for developing countries and to prioritize the applications and requests of developing countries for capacity building, technical, scientific assistance and resources etc. will be vital in implementing the Convention effectively and globally.
6. Enhancing partnerships between developed and developing countries to facilitate knowledge, technological and resource transfer and sharing of best practices will be beneficial in this direction. Fostering regional cooperation and networking will enable developing and least developed countries (LDC) to collaborate effectively to address the issues of biological threats.
7. Gathering continuous feedback from developing countries on their challenges in national implementation of the Convention as well as pre and post evaluation of projects, assistance provided under the ICA mechanism is important to shape future cooperation strategies.
8. Implementing robust monitoring systems and post evaluation mechanisms on the effectiveness of projects initiated by ICA Mechanism in any country and ensuring their sustainability is important to fight against biological threats worldwide at any time under any circumstance, in the future.
9. We should not forget the dual use of biological research and life sciences. Therefore, as underlined in Article X of the Convention, ICA Mechanism should also focus on promoting and assisting the peaceful use of bio-technologies in an ethical and responsible manner.
10. Towards this end, it is important to identify complementarities and synergies of the activities by other relevant international and regional organizations with focus on bio-safety and bio-security for necessary collaboration while being mindful of avoiding duplication of the initiatives under this Convention.

Mr. Chair,

Sri Lanka is committed to working with all States in enhancing its capabilities to respond to biological threats as well as to promote peaceful use of bio-technologies.  We remain committed toward strengthening the BWC and its full implementation at national, regional and global level. We firmly believe that comprehensive and pragmatic International Cooperation and Assistance Mechanism will be one of the key pillars in achieving this objective.

Thank you

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