31Received 10.06.2024. Revised 05.07.2024. Accepted 23.10.2024.
Abstract. Strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC)1 remains a topical issue. Rapid developments in life sciences and the increasing number of private actors in the global biotechnology market present several challenges related to monitoring and preventing biological threats at national and global levels. In the half-century since the BWC was opened for signature, the structure of the biosecurity problem has become more complex compared to what the architects of the Convention understood it to be. In the current geopolitical climate, mutual distrust has increased, which has led to the politicization of issues related to the national implementation of the BWC. The issue of national compliance with the BWC has significantly complicated the intersessional program and the work of the Ninth BWC Review Conference. Against this backdrop, attempts by non-state actors to bolster the BWC regime by developing mechanisms of enhanced transparency alongside the Convention have significantly intensified. In international practice, there is a noticeable trend for coalitions of like-minded countries to create informal structures that are supported by voluntary donations. These formats are seen as an alternative to slow-paced classical multilateral disarmament diplomacy, which innovators believe is unable to reach consensus in times of acute geopolitical confrontation. Russia is committed to enhancing regional cooperation in the field of biosafety and biosecurity within the framework of the BWC. As it is seen from Moscow, strengthening the BWC and promoting international cooperation on biosafety and biosecurity are crucial for establishing a regional security architecture in Eurasia. Russian Federation currently promotes the concepts of biological sovereignty and collective biosecurity among members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). This article provides a brief overview of the evolution of efforts to strengthen the BWC, from the launch of negotiations on its development to the establishment of the Working Group on the Strengthening of the BWC in December 2022. The authors proceed to review practical steps taken by Russia in collaboration with other CSTO members aimed at creating a unified biosafety and biosecurity environment, and conclude by identifying some emerging challenges.
Keywords: biosafety, biological sovereignty, collective biosecurity, BTWC/BWC, CSTO, CIS, WMD nonproliferation, international cooperation and assistance, control and monitoring of bio-threats
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