November 2019 Global Dialogue

NTI convened the 10th meeting of the Global Dialogue on Nuclear Security Priorities outside of Düssedorf in Velen, Germany on November 5-6, 2019. The meeting was attended by government officials from 15 countries, representatives from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations, the European Commission, and the World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS), as well as industry and non-governmental experts from around the world.

The meeting addressed three topics:

• 2020 ICONS: First, the meeting discussed options for promoting an ambitious, forward-leaning ministerial declaration and for injecting a culture of deliverables into the ministerial segment of the 2020 IAEA International Conference on Nuclear Security (ICONS). This discussion was supported by an NTI paper “Promoting an Ambitious, Forward-Leaning ICONS,” by Samantha Neakrase, Senior Director of Materials Risk Management, NTI, and featured a presentation by Darren Chen, Senior Nuclear Security officer from the Division of Nuclear Security at the IAEA.
• CPPNM/A RevCon: Second, the group discussed substantive issues related to the conference to review the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPNM/A RevCon), to be held in 2021, including how to review implementation of the convention and its adequacy. This discussion was supported by an NTI paper, “Key Issues for the Conference to Review the ACPPNM,” by Samantha Neakrase, and featured presentations by Tomás Bieda, Director of Nuclear Security Policies and Non-Proliferation at the Ministry of Energy and Mining in Argentina; Dr. Rob Floyd, Director General of the Australian Safeguards and Nonproliferation Office; and Zainab Hashmi, CBRN Terrorism Policy Advisor at the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
• Regional Approaches to Nuclear Security: Finally, the group discussed regional approaches and tools for strengthening dialogue and progress on nuclear security. This discussion was supported by papers by Trevor Findlay, Senior Research Fellow at the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne; Hubert Foy, Director of the African Centre for Science and International Security (AFRICIS) in Ghana; Irma Arguello; and Nilsu Goren, Program Manager of Nuclear Security at CRDF Global. Trevor Findlay and Hubert Foy presented at the meeting, as did Willem Janssens, Head of Department for the European Commission.