Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield
U.S. Representative to the United Nations
New York, New York
AS DELIVERED
Thank you, Mr. President.
The United States voted against this resolution because it is based on disinformation, dishonesty, bad faith, and a total lack of respect for this body. The Biological Weapons Convention is important. It addresses the grave threat posed by biological weapons. The United States takes its responsibility seriously, and fully complies with and fulfills its obligations under the BWC. That includes assisting partners around the world to strengthen global health security and reduce the impact of infectious diseases on their societies.
Colleagues, we cannot allow such lifesaving cooperation to be stigmatized. Russia tried, and failed, to claim that we had violated the BWC at the Article 5 meeting in Geneva this past September. Russia failed to provide any credible evidence to support these false allegations. Despite Russia’s abuse of the process, and precisely because we respect the BWC and its provisions, the United States and Ukraine went through Russia’s allegations in Geneva, point by point, and debunked every single one.
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