Eleven more nations must ratify the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material before the measure enters into force, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Monday.
Ivory Coast became the latest ratifying nation on Feb. 10, according to an IAEA press release.
“This is the most important area of unfinished business in nuclear security. The Amendment was adopted more than 10 years ago, but it has still not entered into force because not enough countries have adhered to it,” Amano said in a speech to the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Nonproliferation.
The convention, which entered into force in 1987, sets legally binding security measures for the international transport of nuclear material used for peaceful purposes, including establishing specific arrangements and defined standards of physical protection for transport of the material and criminalizing threatening misuse of nuclear materials for harmful purposes.
The 2005 amendment expands the convention to cover nuclear material in domestic use, storage, and transport. The measure cannot enter into force until two-thirds of the convention’s 152 member states approve measures of ratification. To date, 91 nations have signed off on the amendment.
Ivory’s Coast’s ratification was preceded most recently by approvals from Morocco in December, Iceland in October, and Botswana in September. The United States ratified the amendment in July 2015.
“The good news is that we now have real momentum and entry into force appears to be finally within reach,” Amano said. “I hope that can happen this year.”
