Biological Weapons Convention (BWC)
Why in news?
India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar recently urged reforms to modernize the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) amid rising bioterrorism risks from non-state actors and rapid scientific advances.
Key Concerns Raised by Minister Jaishankar:
- Rising Bioterrorism Risks: The misuse of diseases and dangerous pathogens by non-state actors is a "serious concern" and no longer a distant possibility.
- Inadequate BWC Structure: The 50-year-old convention lacks essential institutional structures, including compliance and verification mechanisms, and a way to track rapid scientific advancements.
- Pace of Scientific Advancement: Modern scientific and technological progress, including areas like genome editing and synthetic biology, is outpacing the BWC's ability to govern potential misuse.
- Global South Vulnerability: Many countries in the Global South have weaker healthcare systems, surveillance, and emergency response capacities, making them more vulnerable to biological threats and highlighting the need to keep them central in biosecurity preparations.
India's Proposed Solutions:
India advocates for a robust compliance and verification framework tailored for the contemporary era. Minister Jaishankar outlined India's proposal for a National Implementation.
Framework designed to address:
- Identification of high-risk biological agents.
- Oversight of dual-use research.
- Domestic reporting mechanisms.
- Incident management.
- Continuous training.
About Biological Weapons Convention
- The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), also known as the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), is a landmark international disarmament treaty that effectively prohibits biological and toxin weapons.
- It was the first multilateral treaty to ban an entire category of weapons of mass destruction.
- The BWC was opened for signature on April 10, 1972, and entered into force on March 26, 1975.
Key Aspects of the BWC:
- Prohibition: The BWC prohibits the development, production, acquisition, retention, transfer, stockpiling, and use of biological agents, toxins, and the weapons and delivery systems designed to use them for hostile purposes. This prohibition applies to agents and toxins of types and in quantities that have no justification for prophylactic, protective, or other peaceful purposes.
- Destruction: States Parties are required to destroy or divert to peaceful purposes any existing biological weapons, agents, toxins, or related equipment within nine months of the convention's entry into force.
- National Implementation: Each State Party must take necessary national measures, including enacting legislation and regulations, to prohibit and prevent prohibited activities within its territory or under its jurisdiction or control.
- International Cooperation: The convention encourages consultation and cooperation among States Parties to address compliance concerns and to facilitate the exchange of information and materials for peaceful biological purposes.
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