The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
KAMPALA, Uganda | Xinhua | Uganda has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening the implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and supporting global non-proliferation efforts.
The renewed commitment was made on Tuesday following a one-day conference in Kampala, the capital of the East African country, co-hosted by the Ugandan military and the United Nations.
The Uganda Peoples’ Defense Forces said in a statement that the Ugandan government has reaffirmed its commitment to implementing the BWC and UN Security Council Resolution 1540.
The event, the first of its kind, focused on strengthening national capacity to meet BWC obligations and enhancing Uganda’s ability to submit confidence-building measures required under the treaty. It also reflected Uganda’s increasing engagement in global non-proliferation efforts.
Godwin Bagashe, Uganda’s national BWC contact point, emphasized the importance of maintaining momentum in efforts to fast-track legislation and reporting under the convention.
He called on participants to act as focal points within their respective ministries, departments, and agencies to cascade the information and begin collecting relevant data.
Speaking at the closing session, Irumba Roger Kaija, undersecretary for relief, disaster management and refugees at the Office of the Prime Minister, said the conference has laid a foundation for coordinated national action on BWC implementation.
“We’ve received critical guidance, and I encourage all of us to carry this forward by forming a national task force to lead future responses,” Kaija said.
The BWC, formally known as the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction, entered into force in 1975.
Uganda already has several legislative frameworks in place, including the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Biosafety and Biosecurity Bill, which are seen as essential components of the country’s implementation of the BWC. ■
