The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), despite being the primary international treaty against bioweapons, has critical weaknesses: minimal staffing, no verification mechanism, and reliance on voluntary compliance. Advances in synthetic biology make these gaps even riskier, as bad actors could exploit biotechnology more easily. One way to address this is by proposing a multi-faceted approach to strengthen the BWC without requiring full treaty reform.

A Layered Approach to Strengthening Oversight

The idea involves three complementary strategies targeting different vulnerabilities in the current system:

• Whistleblowing incentives: Financial rewards could encourage insiders to report violations, similar to anti-corruption programs. This creates a deterrent effect for potential violators.
• Bilateral agreements: Instead of waiting for full BWC consensus, cooperative states could form smaller agreements for mutual verification, such as lab inspections or data sharing.
• Open-source monitoring: A dedicated team could systematically scan scientific literature, procurement records, and other public data for red flags, increasing transparency.

Why This Could Work

Existing efforts to strengthen biosecurity often rely on policy advocacy or voluntary reporting, lacking enforcement mechanisms. By combining financial incentives for whistleblowers with proactive monitoring and voluntary state-to-state agreements, this approach bypasses the slow-moving BWC bureaucracy while still improving oversight:

• It leverages existing public data and private sector cooperation.
• It offers states reciprocal benefits rather than imposing top-down mandates.

For example, scientists might flag unusual pathogen purchases, while bilateral agreements could allow neighboring countries to jointly inspect high-risk labs under agreed-upon terms.

• Start with open-source monitoring by building a team to analyze scientific publications and procurement trends.
• Partner with universities and NGOs to test feasibility, then expand to whistleblowing mechanisms and bilateral deals.