Disarmament Diplomacy

Issue No. 64, May - June 2002

News Review

IAEA Action Plan to Guard Against Nuclear Terrorism

On March 19, the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reached agreement "in principle", in the words of an Agency statement, on "an action plan designed to upgrade worldwide protection against acts of terrorism involving nuclear and other radioactive materials". The statement continued:

"In approving the plan, the Board has recognised that the first line of defence against nuclear terrorism is the strong physical protection of nuclear facilities and materials. ... A number of states, including Australia ($100,000), Great Britain ($350,000), Japan ($1 million), the Netherlands (EUR 250,000), Slovenia (EUR 14,000), USA ($1 million), pledged specific sums of money to a special fund set up to support the plan. A number of other member states announced in-kind support to the plan, including Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, and Turkey. Also, in November 2001, the United States and the [independent] Nuclear Threat Initiative each pledged $1.2 million for the fund. The Agency has calculated its annual funding needs at $12 million for its programmes and an additional $20 million per year to enable the Agency to respond to urgent situations that require immediate security upgrades. The Board of Governors called upon IAEA member states to contribute to the fund as a matter of urgency."

Presenting the programme to the Board on March 18, IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei stated: "The question of nuclear security to protect against terrorism has been on our minds for the past few months, and I am pleased now to present to Board a concrete plan of action... The plan covers eight areas: physical protection of nuclear material and nuclear facilities; detection of malicious activities (such as illicit trafficking) involving nuclear and other radioactive materials; strengthening of state systems for nuclear material accountancy and control; security of radioactive sources; the assessment of safety and security related vulnerabilities at nuclear facilities; response to malicious acts or threats thereof; the adherence to international agreements and guidelines; and enhancement of programme co-ordination and information management for nuclear safety related matters. ... I should emphasize that the activities proposed are not a substitute for national measures, nor can they diminish the primary responsibility of the state in all matters of security, rather they are designed to supplement and reinforce national efforts in areas where international cooperation is indispensable to the strengthening of nuclear security... The financing of an action plan for nuclear security will bring benefits for all states - regardless of the existence or size of their nuclear programmes - by contributing to improved protection of nuclear material and other radioactive sources, better border controls, and enhanced national and international mechanisms for responding to radiological emergencies."

Reports: Excerpts from introductory statement by IAEA Director General Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, IAEA text (http://www.iaea.org), March 18; IAEA Board of Governors approves IAEA Action Plan to combat nuclear terrorism, IAEA Press Release 2002/04, March 19.

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© 2002 The Acronym Institute.