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International Response: IAEA Board Approves New Security Plan By David Ruppe Through the effort, the agency will offer expertise in assessing vulnerabilities in nuclear security and assistance in addressing them. Such assistance might include security standards, guidelines and methodologies, training, technical and administrative advice. “National measures for protecting nuclear material and facilities are uneven in their substance and application,” said the agency in a press release, after the plan was approved “in principle” during a closed meeting. “There is wide recognition that the international physical protection regime needs to be strengthened,” the agency said. The program would specifically help improve protection of nuclear facilities, border controls, detection of malicious activities using nuclear material, state systems for accounting and control of such material, responses to malicious acts or threats, coordination and information management and adherence to international guidelines. A preliminary proposal for the plan was announced in November (see GSN, Nov. 30, 2001). In developing the program, there apparently was concern among states about protecting confidentiality and avoiding leaks of information about vulnerabilities. Anita Nilsson, head of the agency’s physical protection and material security office, told Global Security Newswire the program would not provide inspections, but would rather arrange for states on request the opportunity to have a team of experts, or “peers,” perhaps from another country of choice to provide assessments or services. A single report might be prepared after an assessment to be provided to the client, she said. Bypasses Budget Cap The program is to be funded entirely through donations from member states, necessary since the agency has been operating under a zero real growth budget cap for 15 years. The overall agency budget is currently about $300 million. To pay for the program, a number of states during the Board of Governors meeting pledged money for a special fund to support the plan including: $100,000 from Australia, $350,000 from Great Britain, $500,000 from Japan, $221,000 from the Netherlands, $12,000 from Slovenia and $1 million from the United States. The plan is not intended reduce to diminish the responsibilities of states for protection, said IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei. “In some rare cases,” said Nilsson, the program might provide some small types of equipment if there are some specific needs. She said, however, there were no pledges for providing equipment through the program so far. The pledges would need to be renewed each year, but there is hope the program eventually will be included in the IAEA budget, said Nilsson. The United States lately has been aggressively working to persuade other states to free the agency from the budget caps, officials say. Non-Monetary Assistance Finland, France, Germany, India, Romania and Turkey said they would provide nonfunding assistance, such as training facilities, to support the program, and others said they plan contributions in the near future. The pledges come on top of a $1.2 million pledge last year by the Nuclear Threat Initiative. “This modest investment in nuclear security will bring benefits for all states,” ElBaradei said. “All of us are vulnerable, because all of us use nuclear materials and radioactive materials [that] can easily move across borders.” [EDITOR'S NOTE: The Nuclear Threat Initiative is the sole sponsor of Global Security Newswire, which is published independently by National Journal Group, Inc.]
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