India calls for stronger action against biological weapons

Warning against terrorists trying to get biological weapons, India has called for stronger international action to contain their spread.

India also suggested a discussion of "perceptions regarding the ongoing outbreak of Ebola virus".

The UN Security Council has declared Ebola "a threat to international peace and security".

Ambassador D.B. Venkatesh Varma said: "Improving the effectiveness of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and strengthening its implementation and universalisation is necessary in view of the new challenges to international peace and security emanating from proliferation trends, including the threat posed by terrorists or other non-state actors seeking access to biological agents or toxins for terrorist purposes."

Only an international mechanism for verifying compliance with the convention can ensure compliance with it and deter violating it, Varma, who is India's Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament, said Friday at the UN General Assembly's committee that deals with disarmament and international security.

New Delhi shares the widespread interest among nations to "strengthen the effectiveness and improve the implementation of the Convention through the negotiation and conclusion of a Protocol for that purpose," he said.

(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in)