Protecting Children from Biological Weapons in Armed Conflict
Working paper
Highlights
Biological threats are no longer theoretical. Accelerating advances in synthetic biology, genomics, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI) are reshaping the landscape of risk, creating new pathways for the development, modification, and use of biological agents in armed conflict. In this emerging security environment, children — already the most vulnerable in any crisis — would pay the highest price.
This UNICEF working paper examines how emerging biotechnologies may be weaponized in future conflicts, how these threats intersect with cyber and information operations, and why children may be deliberately targeted for strategic or psychological effect. Drawing on foresight scenarios and legal-policy analysis, it identifies critical gaps in global biosecurity, including attribution challenges, weak verification mechanisms, and insufficient child-centered preparedness frameworks.
Children’s physiology, dependency, and limited access to life-saving services place them at disproportionate risk in any biological incident. In conflict-affected settings, where health systems are degraded and humanitarian access is constrained, these dangers are multiplied. A deliberate biological attack would not only devastate young lives — it would undermine community stability, disrupt recovery for generations, and violate the most fundamental principles of international humanitarian and human rights law.
This working paper delivers a clear message to the international community: existing biosecurity and disarmament architectures — national, regional, and multilateral — are not yet configured to protect children from the evolving risks of biological weapons. It calls for immediate action across the multilateral system:
- Integrate child-specific risks into biosecurity assessments, early-warning systems, and preparedness frameworks.
- Strengthen global governance under the Biological Weapons Convention and related UN mandates.
- Build rapid-response capacities that prioritize children’s health, protection, and continuity of care.
Protecting children from biological weapons is not a technical aspiration: it is a moral and legal imperative. The international community must act now to ensure that no child becomes a casualty of tomorrow’s biological conflicts.
