¡¡¡¡GENEVA, Nov. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- The fifth review conference of Biological Weapons Convention will be resumed in Geneva from Nov. 11 to 22 after one-year intermission, according to a press releasefrom the Conference on Disarmament (CD) on Wednesday.

¡¡¡¡The states parties will be trying to reach agreement and conclude the work of the conference, the initial session of which was held from Nov. 19 to Dec. 7 2001, and suspended in controversial circumstances, according to CD.

¡¡¡¡The press release said the main aim of the conference had beento consider and adopt the draft protocol. However, the protocol negotiations had failed, delegations were faced with the problem of finding alternative ways of ensuring that the convention remained effective in the face of growing challenge.

¡¡¡¡The states parties to the Convention hold the conferences every five years to review the status and operation of the Convention, in order to ensure that its purposes and provisions are being realized.

¡¡¡¡The Biological Weapons Convention, which opened for signature in 1972 and entered into force in 1975, prohibits the development,production and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons. It currently has 146 states parties, with a further 17 having signedbut not yet ratified. Enditem

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