Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM)

2020-2022

2022

On 7 March, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi addressed the IAEA Board of Governors and emphasized the importance of establishing a framework for securing Ukraine’s nuclear power plants. He also highlighted the importance of the CPPNM and the upcoming CPPNM conference in this process.

From 28 March-1 April, the Conference of Parties to the Amendment to the Convention on the Protection of Nuclear Materials (A/CPPNM) took place in Vienna. The conference marked 5 years since the entry into force of the Amendment.

On 28 March, US Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins spoke at the Conference of Parties to the Amendment to the Convention on the Protection of Nuclear Materials (A/CPPNM) and condemned Russia’s actions at Ukraine’s nuclear facilities as “brazen and irresponsible.”

2019-2016

2019

On 18 September, Bolivia, Benin, and Chad joined the treaty.

On 18 December Syria joined the treaty.

2018

On 11 January, the State of Palestine acceded to the CPPNM.

On 11 June, Thailand acceded to the CPPNM.

2017

On 4 May, the Ambassador of Costa Rica to the IAEA deposited her country’s instrument of ratification of the amendment to the CPPNM.

From 13-17 November, the IAEA’s International Conference on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facilities was held in Vienna. Nearly 700 participants took part, representing governments as well as civil society, academia, and other sectors. Efforts to universalize the CPPNM were discussed, as well as the IAEA’s recommendations for implementing the 2005 Amendment, found in the IAEA’s Nuclear Security Recommendations on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facilities (NSS 13).

2016

On 8 April, the total number of States required to ratify the 2005 CPPNM Amendment in order for it to enter into force reached the minimum of 102.

On 8 May, the 2005 CPPNM Amendment entered into force.

On 7 November, Zambia acceded to the CPPNM.

On 6 December, Myanmar acceded to the CPPNM.

In 2016 twelve States ratified the 2005 Amendment to the CPPNM allowing it to reach the required two thirds necessary to enter into force: Azerbaijan (31 Mar), Cameroon (1 Apr), Côte d’Ivoire (10 Feb), Kuwait (1 Apr), Marshal Islands (30 Mar), Montenegro (1 Apr), New Zealand (18 Mar), Nicaragua (8 Apr), Pakistan (24 Mar), Paraguay (11 Mar), Serbia (30 Mar), and Uruguay (8 Apr).

2015-2011

2015

On 6-7 April, a regional workshop on facilitating adherence to and implementation of the 2005 Amendment to the CPPNM was held in Obninsk, Russia. Russian speaking countries, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, and Tajikistan, participated in the workshop. The IAEA “briefed participants on how the Amendment can contribute to strengthening nuclear security.”

On 8 July, two States ratified the amendment: Turkey and Italy.

On 31 July, the United States of America ratified the amendment to the CPPNM. After the legislation passed by the Senate in June and was signed by President Obama, John Kerry announced that the United States would actively work to secure the remaining 14 states needed for the amendment to take effect.

On 15 September Botswana ratified the CPPNM Amendment.. The same day, Kyrgyzstan deposited its “instrument of accession,” with hopes of quickly joining the Amendment.

On 27 October, Iceland ratified the CPPNM Amendment, bringing the total number of contracting states to 89. Only 13 more states need to ratify in order for the CPPNM to enter into force.

On 28 October, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano spent two days visiting Spain to discuss improving radiation medicine in the Spanish speaking countries, especially Latin American and the Caribbean. While on this trip, Director General Amano urged countries to sign and/or ratify the CPPNM, in order to “reduce the likelihood of terrorists being able to detonate a dirty bomb in a major city.”

On 27 October, Iceland ratified the 2005 Amendment to the CPPNM.

On 10 December, Morocco ratified the 2005 Amendment to the CPPNM.

2014

Five States ratified or officially accepted the amendment: Jamaica (10 Jan), Colombia (18 Feb), Peru (27 March), Djibouti (22 April), and Republic of Korea (29 May).

On 24-25 March the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit was held in The Hague, Netherlands. The attending delegations reaffirmed the importance of the CPPNM and its amendment, and 14 countries reported progress in adopting legislation to ratify the amendment.

On 12- 13 June, the Seminar on the Promotion of the Entry into Force of the 2005 Amendment to the CPPNM was held at the IAEA headquarters. The IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano highlighted the importance of the entry into force of the Amendment to the CPPNM on global nuclear security.

On 7 July, Iraq acceded to the CPPNM.

On 22 September, Singapore acceded to the Convention.

2013

Ten States ratified or officially accepted the amendment: Belgium (22 Jan), France (01 Feb), Uzbekistan (07 Feb), Cyprus (27 Feb), Slovakia (07 Mar), Albania (26 Apr), Armenia (22 May), Cuba (16 Sept), Malta (16 Sept), and Canada (3 Dec).

On 17 December Malawi acceded to the CPPNM.

2012

Three States became parties to the Convention: Vietnam (04 Oct), Saint Lucia (14 Oct), Cote d’Ivoire (17 Oct).

Nine States ratified or officially accepted the amendment: Luxembourg (24 Feb), Israel (16 March), Sweden (23 March), Georgia (5 Apr), Mexico (1 August), Lesotho (18 Sep), Vietnam (03 Nov), Saint Lucia (08 Nov), Ghana (12 Dec).

From March 26-27 the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit was held as a successor to the 2010 Washington Nuclear Security Summit. The Seoul Communiqué expressed its support for the CPPNM and declared participants’ intent to bring the amendment into full force by 2014, urging states that have not yet done so to ratify the amendment. In addition, seventeen States declared that they were in the process of ratifying the CPPNM.

2011

Seven States ratified or officially accepted the amendment: Saudi Arabia (21 Jan), Netherlands (17 Apr), Kazakhstan (26 Apr), Finland (17 June), Argentina (15 Nov), FYR Macedonia (25 Nov) and Greece (13 Dec).

On April 4-14, the IAEA held the 5th Review Meeting on the Convention on Nuclear Safety. Delegations from member states discussed long terms safety issues and the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in Japan. Due to the disaster, many states planned to conduct reviews of their own nuclear power plants’ safety measures against external events.

On June 20-24, the IAEA held a Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety at its headquarters in Vienna. The conference adopted Ministerial Declaration which called for improvements in global nuclear safety measures. While no specific improvements were discussed, the conference called upon the Director General to prepare an Action Plan to address nuclear safety issues.

On November 14-18, the IAEA held a conference entitled “International Conference on Research Reactors: Safe Management and Effective Utilization” in Rabat, Morocco. 240 delegates from 44 member states attended the conference. Delegates discussed and exchanged information on safety measures and good safety practices.

2010-2006

2010

Three States became parties to the Convention: Bahrain (10 May), Lesotho (18 Aug), and Lao P.D.R. (29 Sep.).

Twelve States ratified or officially accepted the amendment: Mali (27 Jan), United Kingdom (8 Apr), Denmark (19 May), Indonesia (27 May), Tunisia (7 June), Bahrain (9 June), Nauru (14 June), Bosnia and Herzegovina (21 June), Germany (21 Oct), Latvia (23 Nov), Portugal (26 Nov), and Czech Republic (30 Dec).

On 13 April, a Communiqué of the Washington Nuclear Security Summit expressed support for the objectives of the CPPNM and its amendment. The document considered the Convention an essential element of the nuclear security architecture. The Work Plan from the Summit identified the Convention and its amendment as the only multilateral, legally binding agreement regarding the physical protection of nuclear material in peaceful uses. The document encouraged participating states to work towards universality where applicable, early implementation of the amendment and assist states with implementation.

On 18 November, the IAEA held a topical meeting concerning the CPPNM and its amendment. The meeting focused on the implementation and entry into force of the 2005 amendment. At the meeting, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano noted concern about the rate at which states are ratifying the amendment. At the current rate, he said, it “could take another five years before the amendment enters into force.”

2009

Four States became parties to the Convention: Saudi Arabia (7 Jan), the Dominican Republic (30 Apr), Niue (19 Jun), and Jordan (7 Sep).

Eleven States ratified or officially accepted the amendment: Estonia (24 Feb), Chile (12 Mar), Lithuania (19 May), and Niger (28 May), United Arab Emirates (31 Jul), Norway (20 Aug), Slovenia (1 Sep), China (14 Sep), Jordan (7 Oct), Liechtenstein (13 Oct), and Antigua and Barbuda (17 Dec).

At the 2009 NPT PrepCom, all three versions of the draft recommendations for the 2010 Review Conference sought to call upon all states that have not yet done so to accede to all relevant conventions that would strengthen nuclear safety and security, specifically on physical protection of nuclear material and facilities.

UN Security Council Resolution 1887, adopted unanimously on 24 September, called for universal adherence to the CPPNM and its 2005 Amendment.

2008

Seven States became parties to the Convention: Mauritania (29 Jan), Gabon (19 Feb), Central African Republic (20 Feb), Bahamas (21 May), Fiji (23 May), Saint Kitts and Nevis (29 Aug), and Guinea-Bissau (8 Oct).

Nine States ratified or officially accepted the amendment: Mauritania (28 Feb), Gabon (20 Mar), Fiji (22 Jun), Australia (17 Jul), Russian Federation (19 Sep), Switzerland (15 Oct), Hungary (4 Dec), Moldova (22 Dec), and Ukraine (24 Dec).

2007

Eight States became parties to the Convention: Cape Verde (23 Feb), Montenegro (21 Mar), Nigeria (4 Apr), Palau (24 Apr), Comoros (18 May), Yemen (31 May), Guyana (13 Sep), and South Africa (17 Sep).

Seven States ratified or officially accepted the amendment: Romania (6 Feb), Algeria (25 Apr), Nigeria (4 May), Poland (1 Jun), Kenya (1 Aug), India (19 Sep), and Spain (9 Nov).

2006

Five States acceded to the Convention: Tanzania (24 May), Andorra (27 Jun), Cambodia (4 Aug), Georgia (7 Sep), and El Salvador (15 Dec).

Five States ratified or officially accepted the amendment: Seychelles (9 Jan), Bulgaria (17 Mar), Libya (19 Jul), Croatia (11 Sep), and Austria (18 Sep).

2005-2001

2005

The Conference to Consider and Adopt Proposed Amendments to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials was held 4-8 July in Vienna to discuss strengthening existing provisions and expand the scope of the convention.

Delegates from 89 countries agreed on “fundamental changes” to strengthen the treaty to better address issues of nuclear terrorism, smuggling, and sabotage. The amended CPPNM legally binds states to the protection of nuclear facilities and material in peaceful domestic use, storage, and transport. It also provides for enhanced cooperation between states regarding the rapid location and recovery of stolen or smuggled nuclear materials, mitigation of radiological consequences of sabotage, and prevention of combat-related offenses.

The new rules dictated by the amendments will come into effect once two-thirds of the 112 States Parties to the convention ratify the changes. The IAEA states that it would actively assist Member States in their efforts to ratify and implement the obligations of the CPPNM. Turkmenistan was the first country to officially accept the proposed amendment, doing so on 22 September.

2004

During the first half of the year, further consultations were held among a number of States Parties to the CPPNM on the outstanding issues of the Final Report of the “Open-Ended Group of Legal and Technical Experts to Prepare a Draft Amendment of the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material.”

On 5 July, the IAEA Director General circulated proposed amendments to the CPPNM suggested by the governments of Austria, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States.

2003

From 3 to 14 March 2003, the group of legal and technical experts held its last meeting to prepare its recommendation on a well-defined amendment to the Convention. Under the chairmanship of Mr. Dennis Flory, the group adopted a Final Report that recommended the extension of the scope of the CPPNM to cover, inter alia, the physical protection of nuclear material in domestic use, storage and transport, and the protection of nuclear materials and facilities against sabotage. However, the prepared text still contained a number of bracketed clauses on which the group was not able to reach agreement. In June, the IAEA Director General distributed the Final Report to the States Parties urging them to work rapidly towards consensus on the text in order to have a Diplomatic Conference to adopt the proposed amendments at an early date.

2002

The Fourth Meeting for Legal and Technical Experts to prepare a draft for amendment of the Physical Protection Convention was held on 2-6 September, in which around 120 delegations from 46 States participated. During the meeting, the participants anticipated concluding the draft, but failed to agree on the methodology to incorporate Fundamental Principles of Physical Protection in the draft and the scope of sabotage and question of sanction for its environmental damage related to the international commission. Later, an international conference on physical protection was held on 8-13 September, which was titled “Strengthening Practices for Protecting Nuclear Material.” The goal of the conference was to strengthen the international regime of physical protection against new threats as well as to prepare political and technical countermeasures against illicit trafficking of nuclear material and other radioactive materials. The working groups were separated into three topics: international standards, research and development, and training programs.

2001

In February, the Fourth Working Group meeting of the Informal Open-Ended Expert Meeting to discuss whether there was a need to revise the Convention was held. It adopted a Final Report, in which the working group recommended the strengthening of the existing Convention by a well-defined amendment that would cover, among other topics, domestic use, storage and transport of nuclear material with the exclusion of nuclear material and nuclear facilities for military use, mandatory international oversight, periodic national reporting, peer reviews, and mandatory use of . It also recommended drafting a resolution for the IAEA General Conference with the aim of strengthening the physical protection regime.

The June 2001 Informal Open-Ended Expert Meeting adopted this Final Report. The meeting concluded that an amendment to strengthen the Convention should be drafted and then be reviewed by the States Parties with the view to determine if it should be submitted to an amendment conference. It also recommended that the IAEA Director-General convene a group of legal and technical experts to draft such an amendment.

2000-1992

2000

On 22-24 February, the First Working Group meeting to discuss whether to revise the Convention took place in Vienna. The meeting participants decided to establish five working sub-groups on different related matters, including illicit trafficking and physical protection assistance. The Second Working Group meeting, convened on 26-30 June, discussed five working papers related to the competency of the five working sub-groups established at the first meeting.

In May, the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), in its Final Document, noted the paramount importance of effective physical protection of all nuclear material, the need for strengthened international cooperation in physical protection, and called on all States to maintain the highest possible standards of security and physical protection of nuclear materials. The Conference urged all States that had not yet done so to adhere to the Convention by the earliest possible date and to apply, as appropriate, the recommendations on the physical protection of nuclear material and facilities contained in IAEA document (corrected) and in other relevant guidelines. The series of the IAEA documents INFCIRC/225Rev.l, Rev.2, Rev.3, and Rev.4 represent the existing international consensus guidelines and recommendations intended to apply to the physical protection of nuclear material in use, storage, and transport, whether domestic or international and whether peaceful or military. The Conference also welcomed the ongoing informal discussions among legal and technical experts, under the aegis of IAEA, to discuss whether there was a need to revise the Convention.

On 20-24 November, the Third Working Group meeting of the Informal Open-Ended Expert Meeting to discuss whether there was a need to revise the Convention was held in Vienna. The meeting was convened to discuss and review several papers presented by the IAEA and Member States. The Working Group recommended that a draft resolution on wider adherence to the Convention should be presented to the IAEA General Conference in 2001. It also recommended that the IAEA create a Standing Advisory Group on security.

1998-1999

In response to the request of some States Parties to the Convention to hold a meeting to discuss whether there is a need to revise the Convention, the Director-General of the IAEA decided to convene an Informal Open-Ended Expert Meeting at the IAEA Headquarters in Vienna from 15-19 November 1999. The meeting considered proposals by the United Kingdom, France Germany, Belgium, and Sweden to look more broadly at the question. The meeting concluded that the next meeting should be held in May 2001, and before that, a working group should be established to make recommendations to the Expert Meeting.

1997

In September, members of the IAEA Board of Governors voiced support to move towards a possible review of the Convention. They suggested that the Agency should consider the possibility of convening a meeting of interested States to address the issues involved in such a review. It was agreed that in case of sufficient support for such a meeting, it would be convened in 1998.

1996

The participants at the Moscow Nuclear Safety and Security Summit in April recognized the importance of effective nuclear material accounting and control and physical protection and fundamental responsibility of nations to ensure the security of all nuclear material in their possession and the necessity for effective national systems for nuclear accounting, control, and physical protection. They urged all States that had not yet done so to ratify the Convention at the earliest possible date.

1992-1993

The first Review Conference, attended by 35 States Parties, was held from 29 September-1 October 1992 in Vienna. The Review Conference unanimously expressed its full support for the Convention and urged all States to take action to become party to the Convention. The conference reaffirmed that the Convention provides a sound basis for the physical protection of the transport of nuclear material, the recovery and return of any stolen material, and the application of sanctions against any person who may commit criminal acts involving nuclear material. It concluded that no changes were needed in the Convention. The Conference also called upon the IAEA to organize a meeting to examine the IAEA physical protection recommendations in IAEA document INFCIRC/225/Rev.2, and to consider the incorporation of further guidance on such issues as irradiated fuel, nuclear material contained in waste, and other matters. As a result of a Technical Committee meeting in June 1993, revised recommendations were issued in September 1993 (as INFCIRC/225/ Rev.3) that reflected the Committee’s views in these respects.