THE HAGUE // The UAE is one of 35 countries that have pledged to turn international guidelines on the protection of nuclear materials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IEAE) into federal laws.
It has also pledged to allow teams of international experts to evaluate its procedures for nuclear material, in an attempt to strengthen its nuclear security.
“The initiative, proposed by the US, the Republic of Korea and The Netherlands, endorses the fact that international principles and guidelines can help states establish or improve their national nuclear-security regime,” said Ambassador Hamad Al Kaabi, the UAE permanent representative to the IAEA. “The IAEA Nuclear Security Series publications contain objectives and essential elements of a state’s nuclear security regime, along with recommendations and additional implementing guidance. These standards ensure effective nuclear framework and systems are in place.”
The guidelines, which will be binding for countries such as the UAE, the US and Japan, will allow IAEA teams to assess the security of nuclear materials. They also ensure that management and personnel with accountability for nuclear security are competent.
“The UAE joining with 34 other countries – two thirds of the Summit’s participants – is leading the way in putting crucial principles into practice that make us all safer,” said Deepti Choubey, the senior director of nuclear and bio-security at the Nuclear Threat Initiative in Washington.
“These countries are demonstrating a higher bar for nuclear security excellence, while also creating mutual accountability among countries. They are matching words with deeds and putting behind old attitudes of ‘just trust me’.”
States will have to maintain and continuously improve domestic or regional training activities through education, certification or qualification.
“In order to have a sustainable nuclear security, we need to enhance transparency by accepting peer review, such as International Physical Protection Advisory Service,” said Shin Chang-Hoon, the director of international law and conflict resolution in the Asan Nuclear Policy and Technology Centre at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Korea. “The review will not only enhance the transparency of the domestic nuclear- security regime, as well as be conducive to get rid of any weak link in the domestic regime.
“The consequence of a nuclear security accident would be catastrophic, so preventive measures are really significant. The international standards and the peer review are all essential to prevent a catastrophe.”
Frans Timmermans, the Dutch minister of foreign affairs, said all countries at the summit were aware of their national and international responsibilities.
“They are committed to enhance global nuclear security,” he said. “This is why the voluntary guidelines of the IAEA and the IAEA peer-review service are so important. The countries of the Strengthening Nuclear Security Initiative are taking a step further.”
Mr Timmermans said all 35 countries were committed to building a firm foundation of physical protection of nuclear and other radioactive materials that could be used maliciously.
William Tobey, a research fellow at the Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University, said the commitment would help to provide a useful minimum level of security.
“Pledging to adhere to the principles of continuous improvement, peer review, and demonstrable competence by security professions will ensure that continued implementation of those standards reflects changes in technology, the threat environment, and best practices,” he said. “Today’s best practices can be tomorrow’s standards.”
He said the pledges of support for the IAEA and the World Institute for Nuclear Security will mean “we have the institutional capability to provide advice and review to advance excellence in nuclear security. This is an area in which the UAE can be particularly helpful, give its admirable record of building safety and security institutions to support its nuclear industry”.
John Bernhard, a former Danish ambassador to the IAEA and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation, said the commitment would bring security standards up to the levels recommended by the agency.
“This will also benefit other countries, and those, now, 35 countries will be an example to follow by the 18 who did not sign up,” he said. “The subscribers contribute to the most important outcome of this summit and, hopefully, they will also take the lead when it comes to the continuation of the process.”
cmalek@thenational.ae
