Paraguay last week ratified the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, leaving support from just 10 nations needed before the measure enters into force, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
“We are now approaching the finishing line,” IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said in a press release. “I hope that after a decade the Amendment can finally come into force in the very near future, making it harder for terrorists to get their hands on nuclear material or to sabotage a nuclear facility.”
Paraguay’s act on March 11 follows ratifications of the amendment in recent months by Ivory Coast, Morocco, Iceland, and Botswana.
The 1987 convention established a host of legally binding security measures for international transport of nuclear materials used for peaceful 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. Ninety-two nations have now formally approved the amendment.
The intent of the amendment is to further secure material that could be used to produce nuclear weapons or radiological “dirty bombs.”
