50 Years of the Biological Weapons Convention: Tracking the Journey
50 Years of the Biological Weapons Convention: Tracking the Journey (Editor: Ajey Lele, Pentagon Press/MP IDSA, 2025) is a tribute to the Biological Weapons Convention (hereinafter referred to as the BWC), in its Golden Jubilee year (2025), which has been “a foundational pillar of global disarmament and non-proliferation.” The book has five sections, comprising 14 chapters contributed by renowned Indian and international researchers, scholars, academicians, scientists, and diplomats. Each section is organized around a specific theme. It features nearly a dozen tables and figures, a detailed list of abbreviations, an index, and a couple of annexes and notes at the end of each chapter for the reader's benefit.
Section I, which includes a couple of well-written papers, establishes the 'context' while discussing the imminent risks of biological warfare and weapons, as well as the 'response' to them, as written by the editor himself. Chapter 1 covers biological warfare from medieval times to the present, analyzing its potential threats to humanity. The author provides key concepts to understand biological weapons, categorizing nearly half a dozen types. The author expresses serious concern about how, in the post-9/11 era, traditional biological warfare has evolved into a dangerous form of "bioterrorism," endangering the lives of millions worldwide. Chapter 2 examines the countermeasures (diplomatic efforts, public health preparedness, scientific research, biosafety and biosecurity measures, and military defense) developed and implemented globally over the past fifty years. It praises the Biological Weapons Convention as the "forerunner." The chapter details the responses of the international community but laments the lack of a comprehensive and coordinated global response. The author identifies four key challenges and provides “dos and don’ts” for the scientific community to address these issues.
Section II consists of four chapters that trace the origin and development of the BWC. Chapter 3 introduces the Geneva Protocol and describes the establishment, organizational structure, and early work of the League of Nations, as well as the contributions of its main and subsidiary bodies. It is important to note the author’s view that the League of Nations made a “significant advance” for the laws of war and international humanitarian law in the 1920s. While the chapter appreciates efforts toward arms reduction, it also expresses concern about the entry of chemical and bacteriological weapons into the technical field. Chapter 4 examines the evolution of negotiations for the BWC following World War I and World War II, and discusses nearly ten articles of the treaty. The author sees the BWC as being at a "critical crossroads" as the world faces numerous crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The author calls for a “comprehensive global defense strategy" against biological attacks and proposes about half a dozen measures to address this looming threat. Chapter 5 explains the role of the BWC and Chemical Warfare Conventions in countering threats from toxic weapons. The author defines toxins, describes bio-regulators, and urges humanity to make a "concerted effort" to prevent the misuse of toxins. Chapter 6 explains the concept of the Review Conference, which first gained prominence in the Antarctic Treaty and became relevant in the 1960s and 1970s, when major arms control treaties, such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), were signed. The author examines in detail the nine review conferences of the BWC held over the past four decades, from 1980 to 2022, presenting them in a table for better understanding. Section III has two chapters. Chapter 7 presents an Indian perspective on the Protocol to the BWC, written by a seasoned diplomat who was part of the negotiations from 1997 to 2000, a period the author refers to as "truly the high point of multilateral disarmament negotiations." The author emphasises how India has valued the BWC, contributing immensely to this cause. Chapter 8 provides a brief overview of BWC's genesis, the evolution of discussions around BWC verification in the early 2020s, and offers food for thought on advancing its verification for the next half-century. The author prescribes a “clear and realistic vision” and an “adequately resourced institutional framework” for the BWC to remain relevant in the coming times.
The penultimate Section (IV) consists of three chapters. Chapter 9 emphasises the "strategic utility" of the BWC amidst the existing and emerging threats. The author argues that there is an imperative need to "revisit parallel histories of scientific foresight and restraint" in the context of the BWC, and that this should be done from an Indian perspective. The author analyses the diplomatic milestones in BWC’s evolution, besides pointing out the gaps in its framework, such as “structural limitations”, “insufficient adaptation to technology”, and “ineffective Confidence Building Measures.” This chapter calls for a “comprehensive preparedness” amidst the advancements in synthetic biology, artificial intelligence, Nanotechnology, and other related fields, and the challenges they pose. The author discusses India’s decade-long journey in the BWC, while analysing its "vulnerability", and emphasises the need for an Indian “national bio-defence strategy” to counter threats emanating from bio-terrorism. Chapter 10 describes the evolution of the dual concepts of bio-safety and bio-security within the ambit of the BWC, and their “role in risk mitigation”, and “relevance in addressing emerging threats.” It analyses 3-4 case studies of each concept, elaborates on a dozen emerging pathogens, including COVID-19, and their impacts, and recommends a range of measures to address both the challenges. Chapter 11 begins with a few research questions on how the UN health anchor, the World Health Organisation (WHO), plays a significant role, through its "practical and normative work in global health", in preventing the rise and growth of biological weapons, particularly their misuse.
The final section (V), suitably titled "challenges", has three chapters. In Chapter 12, the author examines how “emerging security concerns” and “geopolitical dynamics” affect the integrity of the BWC in relation to the world community. Through a “comparative case study approach”, the author introduces to all stakeholders the dynamics, key trends, approaches, tools, etc., and teaches them to leverage these for keeping the BWC and its principles intact. While examining the “state-sponsored bio-weapons programme” in South Africa, Iraq, and the erstwhile Soviet Union in the last few decades, the author expresses concerns about how biological weapons proliferation has become an intractable 21st-century challenge. While highlighting the gaps and loopholes in the BWC, the author advocates for "inclusive dialogues, international cooperation, and meaningful interaction among stakeholders in government, academia, and industry." Chapter 13 examines how the BWC has "remained inconsistent, constrained by verification gaps, political divisions and resource limitations, under-resourced support structures, etc. The author calls for a "reinvigorated multilateral commitment to biosecurity governance in an age of technological uncertainty." The author gives details of various deliberations of the BWC and their outcomes, however laments the responses as “rhetorical than practical.” The author understands the pressing need of the revitalization of the BWC through “bold and adaptive measures”, and coordinated reforms, cross-sectoral collaboration and inclusive diplomacy. The final chapter (14) explores “how emerging technologies threaten to outpace existing governance structures" and prescribes reformative measures to empower the BWC in its incessant march to uphold the global shield against biological weapons. The authors discuss how rapid advances in Artificial Intelligence, Gene-Editing, and cloud-based laboratories have posed serious challenges to BWC. The authors, while pointing out the limitations of the BWC, call for the "modernisation" of the BWC.
As the BWC stands at "a critical inflexion point in global arms control" at present, the publication of this book is timely. The learning and unlearning part of the BWC has already been completed, and the relearning process begins now, for which the Editor and the authors have made some valuable contributions with new narratives and perspectives. This edited volume will definitely cater to the needs of anyone who studies and pursues research on the BWC.
Book: "50 Years of the Biological Weapons Convention: Tracking the Journey" Edited by Dr. Ajey Lele, Deputy Director General, MP-IDSA (Pentagon Press/MP IDSA, New Delhi, 2025)
Review by Dr. Mahesh Ranjan Debata (PhD) is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Inner Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.