United Nations, Nov 29 (UiTV/IANS) – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for action in three areas to prevent the disaster of biological weapons.
Guterres on Monday made the appeal in a video message to participants of the Ninth Biological Weapons Convention Review Conference in Geneva, Xinhua news agency reported.
The first area of action is to give teeth to the convention’s accountability provisions to ensure that scientific advances are not exploited for hostile purposes, he said.
“Let’s make sure that science and technology are used for the benefit of humanity — not its destruction — and that peace remains at the heart of all scientific development and cooperation.”
Second, update the thinking on verification and compliance to fit today’s threats. The world has changed dramatically over the last five decades. The convention should change with it, he said.
Third, give the convention the increased financial and human resources it needs to carry out this important work, Guterres added.
“The world generously supports global regimes against chemical weapons and nuclear proliferation. We should do the same for biological weapons with a significant increase in the convention’s budget,” he said.
“Now is the time to close off every avenue to the development and use of these weapons.”
Fifty years ago, when the Biological Weapons Convention was open for signature, the global community stood as one and declared that the deliberate use of disease as a weapon was an affront to humanity. The convention affirms the conscience of humankind, Guterres added.
“The Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees. Now imagine a different kind of disease — one that is both deliberately designed and can race through the global population even faster,” he said.
“Biological weapons are not the product of science fiction. They are a clear and present danger. That’s why strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention is more important than ever.”
UN chief saddened by death of former peacemaker
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was saddened by the death of Francesc Vendrell, a mediator who helped shepherd major political and peace processes during a long and distinguished UN career, said the UN Chief’s Spokesman.
Guterres conveyed his sincere condolences to Vendrell’s family and loved ones, said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, in a statement on Monday.
“Those who had the privilege to work alongside him will always remember his dedication and tireless commitment to the search for peace through dialogue.”
Vendrell served the UN for 34 years, beginning in the 1980s. He was Deputy Personal Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Central America during a period of intense diplomacy, in which the UN supported negotiations leading to elections in Nicaragua in 1990, talks that led to a peace agreement between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, and the opening of a peace process that would ultimately lead to the settlement of the conflict in Guatemala in 1996, Dujarric added.
Vendrell also played an important role in the process leading to the independence of Timor Leste, Xinhua news agency reported.
In January 2000, he was appointed as the Secretary-General’s Personal Representative for Afghanistan, a position he held for two years, said the Spokesman.
Vendrell, born in Barcelona in June 1940, died on Sunday at the age of 82.