Jaishankar Warns Bioterrorism Is No Longer Hypothetical, Calls for BWC Reform
India demands urgent global shield against bioterror attacks.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar issued a stark warning on Monday, stating that the deliberate misuse of biological weapons by terrorists and non-state actors is no longer a hypothetical threat but an imminent danger in today’s volatile security landscape. Speaking at the international commemorations marking 50 years of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in Geneva, he stressed that the world remains dangerously unprepared for a potential bioterror catastrophe.
Jaishankar sharply criticised the BWC for being a toothless treaty, pointing out that half a century after its adoption, the convention still lacks any verification mechanism, permanent technical secretariat, or system to monitor rapid advances in biotechnology. “Bioterrorism is a serious concern that the international community has to be adequately prepared for. Yet the BWC still lacks basic institutional structures,” he declared, warning that existing gaps are widening as science outpaces governance.
India has formally called for the immediate establishment of a robust compliance and verification regime tailored to modern realities. The minister emphasised that New Delhi supports multilateral negotiations to plug these critical loopholes while ensuring that peaceful exchanges of biological materials, equipment, and knowledge are not hindered.
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Jaishankar further proposed the creation of a dedicated mechanism under the BWC to continuously assess breakthrough scientific and technological developments in synthetic biology, gene editing, and artificial intelligence. Without such systematic oversight, he argued, the global community risks being blindsided by dual-use innovations that could be weaponised by rogue actors.
As one of the original signatories and strong advocates of the BWC, India reiterated its commitment to strengthening the convention through verifiable measures, enhanced international cooperation, and capacity-building assistance to developing nations, sending a clear message that the era of treating biological threats as distant possibilities is over.
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