ASTANA, July 4. /TASS/. Member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) advocate strict compliance with the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention [BTWC], a declaration signed at the SCO Summit in Astana on Thursday reads.
"Pointing to the importance of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (BWC), the [SCO] member states favor strict compliance with the convention and the adoption of a legally binding protocol in order to create an effective verification mechanism, and [stand against] the establishment of any mechanisms that duplicate the functions of the BTWC," the declaration reads.
The SCO also stated in its declaration that the organization urged for full compliance with the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (CWC), an important instrument in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation.