Task Force 6: Accelerating SDGs: Exploring New Pathways to the 2030 Agenda 1. The Challenge The controversy around the origin and response to the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the gaps in current global biological threat assessment systems. The major international organisations, namely, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), failed in their respective mandates to adequately prepare and respond to the risk of the emergence of such a biological threat. The current structures of both the WHO and the BWC are inadequate for addressing such challenges in future. The BWC is an international treaty established in 1975 to prohibit the development, production, and stockpiling of biological weapons. [1] The treaty further aims to prevent the use of biological weapons in warfare and to ensure that biological research is used only for peaceful purposes. The BWC seeks to promote international peace and security by eliminating the threat of biological weapons, which can cause widespread harm and potentially destabilise regions and nations. The treaty provides a framework for member states to cooperate on peaceful uses of biotechnology while also working to prevent the misuse of such technology for military purposes. The BWC helps promote disarmament and prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Therefore, it is an important component of the international legal framework designed to maintain global security. The mandate of the WHO, on the other hand, is more comprehensive and more public-health focused. WHO is a specialised agency of the United Nations (UN) that is responsible for promoting and coordinating international health policies, programs, and responses. The purpose of the WHO is to provide leadership on global health matters, shape health research agenda, set norms and standards, provide technical support to countries, and monitor and assess health trends.
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