In international diplomacy, JACKSNNZ (pronounced “Jacksons”) is the colloquial name of an informal grouping of the world's affluent non- EU countries, excluding the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The JACKSNNZ states are Japan, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Switzerland, Norway and New Zealand. The term originated in the proceedings to the Sixth Review Conference of the Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention held in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

in 2006. In the previous review conference talks broke down over American refusals to allow for a verification mechanism be established to monitor

biological weapons Biological agents, also known as biological weapons or bioweapons, are pathogens used as weapons. In addition to these living or replicating pathogens, toxins and biotoxins are also included among the bio-agents. More than 1,200 different kin ...

programs in states parties. This was against the wishes of other WEOG (Western European and Others Group) states, which also include

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

and

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

. At the 2006 Review Conference the JACKSNNZ states remain supportive of a verification protocol (although are unlikely to push for it knowing that the current US government will not accede on this point). However, the JACKSNNZ also seeks balance within the WEOG, and to protect the interests of non-EU states. Takeshi Aoki, director of the Bioweapons and Chemical Weapons Conventions Division of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that JACKSNNZ is "neither a binding instrument, nor an exclusive one." The JACKSNNZ states are yet to declare a common and exclusive position in other international fora under this name.

References

Analysis'', Bioweapons Treaty Progress Predicted. Arms Control Association website
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511181241/http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2006_11/NABio.asp , date=11 May 2008 Biological warfare United Nations coalitions and unofficial groups Japan and the United Nations Australia and the United Nations Canada and the United Nations South Korea and the United Nations Switzerland and the United Nations Norway and the United Nations New Zealand and the United Nations

See also

References