Justice Ministry Proposes Tighter Safeguards for WHO Pandemic Pathogen System

Bratislava, 8 July (TASR) - Slovakia's Justice Ministry has submitted a series of proposed amendments to the annex on the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing System (PABS) to the WHO pandemic agreement during international negotiations, with the proposals intended to strengthen legal certainty, biosafety, transparency, traceability and risk management in the global exchange of pathogens with pandemic potential, the ministry's press department told TASR on Wednesday. The ministry underlined that the PABS will not be merely a technical mechanism for sharing biological materials and genetic sequence information. "It represents the implementation pillar of the WHO pandemic agreement and must be not only functional but also safe, trustworthy and enforceable. It is therefore necessary for it to contain clear rules for dealing with situations that may pose significant biological or security risks," the ministry said. The proposed amendments focus primarily on strengthening biosafety and biosecurity rules, establishing traceability mechanisms for PABS materials and sequence information, introducing procedures for expert assessment of serious security incidents, ensuring appropriate risk management rules where misuse of the system is suspected, enhancing legal certainty regarding participants' obligations, and maintaining appropriate protection of personal data, sensitive information and intellectual property. The ministry also emphasized that its proposals do not seek to regulate scientific research or restrict international scientific cooperation. "Their objective is to establish procedural mechanisms for cases in which materials or sequence information made available through the PABS system could be used in a manner incompatible with the objectives and purpose of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), or where reasonable grounds arise to suspect a serious biological risk," it added. The ministry said its approach was based on the precautionary principle and developments in the international debate following the COVID-19 pandemic. It noted that 14 countries, in a joint statement issued after the completion of the WHO study into the origins of COVID-19, called for the creation of a rapid and transparent mechanism to investigate future outbreaks of unknown origin. It added that its proposals also reflect the latest international security discussions on research involving potentially increased biological risks. In formulating its proposals, the ministry also took into account recent public statements by US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, following the declassification of documents concerning long-term US government funding for more than 120 biological laboratories in over 30 countries. "According to published information, many of these laboratories are currently conducting, or have previously conducted, research involving dangerous and highly infectious pathogens, including, in some cases, hazardous gain-of-function research with very limited transparency or oversight," the ministry stated. It argued that this represented a further security consideration supporting the need for robust international mechanisms on biosafety, transparency and risk management. The Justice Ministry said it believed the credibility of the global PABS system will depend not only on the rapid exchange of biological materials and sequence information but also on its ability to respond to security incidents in a transparent, expert and legally predictable manner. mf