The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) next week hosts its International Conference on Nuclear Security: Commitments and Actions. The event will be held in cooperation with a number of international organizations including Interpol, the United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs, and the nongovernmental Nuclear Threat Initiative.
NS&D Monitor will be reporting on conference proceedings throughout the week on-site in Vienna, Austria.
The conference is the U.N. nuclear agency’s second on this topic; the first was held in 2013 and involved participants from 125 member states and 21 intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations. The 2013 conference resulted in a ministerial declaration asking the IAEA to consider organizing international nuclear security conferences every three years.
The IAEA coordinates nuclear security efforts worldwide, working to build an international framework for nuclear security and serving as a multilateral forum to facilitate global nuclear security technical engagement.
This year’s conference will feature a ministerial segment for delegations to report on achievements, commitments, and actions taken on nuclear security, along with a technical program with sessions on specific scientific issues in the field. The meeting is governed by the IAEA’s current Nuclear Security Plan that spans from 2014 to 2017, through which the agency has committed to helping states establish effective national nuclear security regimes and strengthen international cooperation for global nuclear security efforts.
The IAEA’s goals for the 2016 conference include reviewing the current status of and technical developments for nuclear security worldwide; promoting information and best practices sharing between states; supporting global capacity building; and advocating for stronger nuclear security culture.
Lassina Zerbo, executive secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization, said during an interview with NS&D Monitor this week that he expects the IAEA conference to acknowledge a “concert of contribution that could come from many different international organizations to feed what the IAEA is doing in terms of nuclear security.”
Zerbo cautioned diplomats at the conference not to “reinvent the wheel,” noting that the CTBTO can help with some aspects of nuclear security through its seismic monitoring network. “You don’t have to go and reinvent another network for that,” he said.
