FIFTY YEARS SINCE THE BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION
NO TO BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS, YES TO BIOSAFETY
The year 2025 marked the 50th anniversary of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), an international treaty that banned the development and use of biological weapons of mass destruction. The International Science Council (ISC), with which the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei is affiliated, has drawn attention to this crucial issue with three documents: “Strengthening science and technology under the BWC”; “Strengthening international cooperation under the BWC”; “Compliance and verification under the BWC”. The anniversary and the ISC documents come at a time of grave concern for world peace and serve as a reminder that biological weapons pose a serious threat to humanity, no less grave and devastating than the development and use of nuclear weapons.
As emphasised at one of the events during the meeting of BWC member states held in Geneva from 15 to 17 December 2025, biological weapons programmes in the 21st century are no longer what they were in previous decades, nor are the technologies used to monitor and combat them. Artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies have the potential to contribute to international efforts aimed at strengthening the implementation, verification and enforcement of the BWC.
Following the Lincea Health Commission’s review of the ISC documents, the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei commends the quality of the work carried out by the ISC working groups and endorses the principles and content of the documents.
The Academy draws on ISC documents on the subject of ‘biological weapons’ to highlight the broader issue of biosecurity
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Statement of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei
12 March 2026
Attached the pdf version