India cautions over 'heightened' threat of misuse of biological agents as weapons

“The access to these weapons of mass destruction by terrorists and other non-state actors adds a serious dimension to threats posed by these weapons to international peace and security,” A. Amarnath, a counsellor at India's UN Mission said.

India has cautioned over the “heightened” threat of misuse of biological agents and chemicals as weapons against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and called on the international community to address the rapid evolution of proliferation risks.

It said new and emerging technologies may increase the risk of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) access by terrorist groups and other non-state actors.

“The access to these weapons of mass destruction by terrorists and other non-state actors adds a serious dimension to threats posed by these weapons to international peace and security,” A. Amarnath, a counsellor at India's UN Mission, said on May 31.

Speaking at the open consultations of the UN Security Council 1540 Committee on the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, he said a key area that needs the focus of the international community is the rapid evolution of proliferation risks.

“New and emerging technologies may increase these risks of WMD access by terrorist groups and other non-state actors. The growing capabilities of terrorists and other non-state groups to access delivery systems such as missiles and unmanned/uncrewed aerial systems have compounded the risks of terrorism using WMDs.

“Similarly, in the COVID-era, the threat of misuse of biological agents and chemicals as weapons, combined with advances in chemistry and biology, has heightened. The open consultations would be a useful forum to deliberate on these issues and how the Committee can assist member states in this area,” he said.

An outbreak of novel coronavirus was first reported in central China's Wuhan city in December, 2019 and spread rapidly to become a pandemic. Over 53,00,22,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported globally while the disease has claimed the lives of over 62,92,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins University. He stressed that India accords great importance to the implementation of resolution 1540.