Global Event for BWC National Contact Points

Overview

The Global Event for BWC National Contact Points (NCPs) was organised by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the Biological Weapons Convention Implementation Support Unit (BWC ISU) at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, on 28-29 November 2024 (Room XXVI, hybrid format).

Programme

A global workshop for National Contact Points (NCPs) for the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). It followed the regional training courses for BWC NCPs delivered in 2023 and 2024, and aimed to:

• Share the key outcomes, recommendations and lessons learned from the regional training courses, and introduce new tools and resources developed by UNODA for NCPs;
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and interaction among NCPs on aspects related to national implementation of the BWC;
• Foster networking and a sense of community among NCPs worldwide;
• Promote Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs) under the Convention, including CBM assistance opportunities available to States Parties;
• Contribute to the discussions within the framework of the Working Group on the Strengthening of the BWC.

Participation was limited to one representative per State Party (national representatives or entities serving as BWC NCPs). The workshop was conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation in Arabic, French, Russian and Spanish.

Dates and venue

• Dates: 28-29 November 2024 (Starts 28 Nov 2024, 10:00; Ends 29 Nov 2024, 18:00, Europe/Zurich)
• Format: Hybrid
• Venue: Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland - Room XXVI

Organiser

United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) / BWC Implementation Support Unit (BWC ISU), Geneva. Contact: bwc@un.org

Next edition

As of 30 September 2026 no further "Global Event for BWC National Contact Points" is listed in the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) category of Indico.UN, the UN conference platform used by UNODA for this meeting series. The BWC ISU remains active on the same platform (for example the ODA BWC ELBI Fellowship 2026 Workshop and the BWC Informal Meeting of States Parties), but no next edition of this global NCP workshop has been announced. Last confirmed edition: 28-29 November 2024.

Verification note

Verified 2026-09-30 against the official event page https://indico.un.org/event/1012302/ (HTTP 200, no Cloudflare challenge): the title, dates (28-29 November 2024), venue (Palais des Nations, Room XXVI, hybrid) and organiser (UNODA / BWC ISU) on the official page all match this record. Note that this entry is a United Nations disarmament meeting rather than a commercial trade exhibition; the previously stored generic "trade exhibition" summary and tag set were replaced accordingly. Room XXVI is a meeting room within the Palais des Nations.