Global efforts to combat bioterrorism and strengthen international health security face a major crisis: The 1972 Biological Weapons Convention is in dire financial straits.
The convention provides the foundation for international efforts to prevent states and terrorists from acquiring bioweapons. It is the world’s only forum for governments, academics, scientists, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to develop strategies for preventing and responding to the threat of bioweapons. But due to the funding crisis, the convention’s ability to continue in that role is in serious jeopardy. Meanwhile, as the recent use of chemical weapons by North Korea, Syria, and the Islamic State demonstrates, dictators and terrorist groups remain interested in unconventional weapons.
Article reposted with permission from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Read the full story.
Gregory Koblentz is the director of the biodefense graduate programs at the Schar School of Policy and Government.