Brussels, 27/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Second Nuclear Security Summit has called for strong action, both national and international, to overcome the threat of nuclear terrorism.
Two years on from the first summit in Washington, this, the Second Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul on 26-27 March, brought together the leaders of 53 states, including US President Barack Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, French and UK Prime Ministers François Fillon and David Cameron and also the Prime Ministers of India Manmohan Singh and Pakistan Yousaf Raza Gillani. It repeated the commitment made at the highest level in Washington on making nuclear material and facilities safer and on tackling nuclear terrorism. “Nuclear terrorism continues to be one of the most challenging threats to international security. Defeating this threat requires strong national measures and international cooperation given its potential global political, economic, social and psychological consequences”, the 53 states agree in their final statement. While reaffirming the “shared goals of nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear power”, the Seoul communiqué does not speak of the need for “concrete steps” along the way to a nuclear-weapons-free world as the draft communiqué had done.
Some of the participating countries did not want to expand the scope of the summit into nuclear arms reduction and disarmament and the call for definite initiatives, according to a South Korean official, quoted by AFP. In the communiqué, the leaders of the 53 countries stress, however, “the fundamental responsibility of states, consistent with their respective national and international obligations, to maintain effective security of all nuclear material … and to prevent non-state actors from acquiring information or technology to use them for malicious purposes”. The 53 states attending the summit, nonetheless, underline the need to ensure the security of stocks of highly enriched uranium (HEU) and separated plutonium, two substances used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons. “We … encourage states in a position to do so, by the end of 2013, to announce voluntary specific actions intended to minimise the use of HEU” through, for example, the conversion of reactors from highly enriched to low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel, which cannot be used to produce nuclear weapons.
In a paragraph on tackling illegal trafficking, the Seoul communiqué underlines the need to develop national capabilities to prevent, detect, respond to and prosecute illicit nuclear trafficking. “Action-oriented coordination” is encouraged among national capacities, consistent with national laws and regulations. The 53 states promise to work to enhance technical capabilities in the field of national inspection and detection of nuclear and other radioactive materials at the borders. Noting that several countries have passed export control laws to regulate nuclear transfers, the states encourage further use of legal, intelligence and financial tools to effectively prosecute offences. The promise is also made that they will work to strengthen cooperation among states on sharing information on individuals involved in trafficking offences of nuclear and other radioactive materials, including through Interpol.
The Seoul communiqué restates the “essential role” of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in facilitating international cooperation and supporting the efforts of states to fulfil their nuclear security responsibilities.
The Third Nuclear Security Summit will take place in the Netherlands in 2014. (EH/transl.rt)