UN cautions world community about bio-terrorism amid COVID pandemic; urges for measures

As the world continues to battle COVID for more than a year, United Nations, NATO Parliamentary Assembly and Interpol have been observing the response of terrorists to the coronavirus pandemic. They have been making efforts in order to find non-state actors who play a part in terrorist activities.

Amid the COVID pandemic, these tasks have been carried out by the UN, NATO, Parliamentary Assembly and Interpol as there are assumptions that the terrorists using biochemical weapons might spread terrorism, ANI cited Geneva Daily report.

This year, in March, the committee raised alarm over the planning of terrorist activities amid the COVID pandemic. While speaking at a UN presentation, Mexico's UN Ambassador Juan Ramon de la Fuente Ramirez stated that even though the COVID pandemic had changed the world, it has not reduced the threat posed by the non-state actors, ANI cited Geneva Daily report.

According to Juan Ramon de la Fuente Ramirez, non-state actors used to get weapons for mass destruction, which included spreading deadly pathogens. Furthermore, Juan Ramon de la Fuente Ramirez highlighted the need for efforts that need to be made by the international community to stop terrorist activities. 

Juan Ramon de la Fuente Ramirez told UN Presentation, "Even while the global pandemic has drastically changed the world, this has not reduced the threat of non-State actors acquiring weapons of mass destruction, including the spread of deadly pathogens. As this scenario cannot be excluded, the international community has multilateral tools to prevent it from happening that must be used to their full potential," as per ANI.

International community needs to act

Juan Ramon de la Fuente Ramirez pointed out that even though they have not been permitted to conduct an assessment of threat, they knew that terrorists had an interest in biological weapons. The committee also mentioned that there have been several cases of ricin weaponization by people in the US, the UK and Germany.

In order to stop the exploitation of biochemical weapons by non-state actors, the committee has suggested that countries need to take measures like physical protection, pathogens and toxins.

To stop the exploitation of biochemical weapons, Committee recommended: "If States have in place measures, for example, to account for and secure production, use, storage or transport, and the physical protection, of pathogens and toxins, this would undermine the possibility of non-State actors, to have access to those materials and using them illicitly, including for terrorist purposes," as per ANI. 

Inputs from ANI

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