Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT)

2021-2022

2022

According to the official website of the GICNT, “The GICNT is pausing all official meetings of the GICNT and its working groups until further notice.”

2021

A GICNT Plenary meeting was scheduled to take place in Hungary in 2021.

2019-2016

2019

29 January – 1 February, Canada and the United Kingdom hosted exercise “Resolute Sentry,” a joint exercise on nuclear detection and nuclear forensics to combat nuclear terrorism focusing on transnational smuggling of radioactive material.

On 12-14 February, the European Commission’s Join Research Centre (JRC) hosted “Cunning Karl” workshop as part of Nuclear Detection Reachback Support. Participants discussed coordination and technical challenges as well as strategies for supporting effective radiological and nuclear detection operations.

On 9-11 April, Nigeria hosted the “Valiant Eagle” Workshop in partnership with the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT). The workshop released key findings focused on best practices for incident management

On 5-7 June, GICNT hosted the 11th plenary meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At the meeting Morocco was elected to be the Implementation and Assessment Group Coordinator (IAG) of the GICNT for 2019-2021 and will host the next IAG meeting in Rabat in 2020. The next Plenary will take place in 2021.

On 5 June, Argentina hosted “Pampa Knife” as part of the Nuclear Security Demonstration Exercise. The event spotlighted procedures for law enforcement responding to a terrorist attack involving a nuclear or radioactive material.

2018

On 10-12 April, Hungary hosted the “Fierce Falcon” workshop to discuss how to respond to an attempted or actual theft of radiological material.

May 29-31 May, Mexico hosted the “Black Jaguar” field exercise to strengthen prosecution measures for nuclear or radiological terrorist attacks. Issues of emergency response mitigation, radiological crime scene management, nuclear forensics, and communications protocols were addressed.

On 11-12 June, the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a GICNT Implementation and Assessment Group (IAG) meeting in Helsinki. The progress of the GICNT technical working groups was discussed.

2017

From 24-26 January 2017, Canada, Slovakia, and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime organized the “Vigilant Marmot” workshop on legal frameworks in nuclear security. Participants discussed various frameworks and their obligations, as well as implementation challenges.

From 8-10 February, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Department of Atomic Energy hosted a GICNT Implementation and Assessment Group (IAG) meeting. The three GICNT technical working groups met to review the accomplishments of 2015-2017 and discuss their objectives for 2017-2019.

On March 28-30 The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre hosted the “Magic Maggiore” workshop in Ispra, Italy, to raise awareness and build commitment for technical reachback in national nuclear detection architectures.

On May 17-19 Bulgaria, together with the United Kingdom, hosted the “Sentinel” workshop to promote the importance of national-level security exercise programs for sustaining nuclear security capabilities.

On June 1-2 partner nations and official observers gathered in Tokyo, Japan for the 10th senior-level Plenary Meeting of GICNT. The meeting welcomed Paraguay and Nigeria as new partners bringing the number of partner nations to 88. In addition to highlighting progress made since the 9th Plenary Meeting in Helsinki, the participants agreed to plans for work in 2017-2019 that will address enduring priorities of Nuclear Detection, Nuclear Forensics, and Response and Mitigation Working Groups. The next Plenary Meeting will be held in Argentina in 2019.

2016

On February 4, representatives of Spain, Morocco, and the US convened a high-level meeting in Washington D.C. centered on building nuclear security partnerships in preparation for the upcoming Nuclear Security Summit and the 10th Anniversary Meeting of the GICNT.

On 23-25 February, the United Arab Emirates hosted the Inter-Arab Nuclear Detection and Response Exercise, FALCON, in Abu Dhabi. The event, developed in partnership with the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, promoted regional approaches in matters of nuclear detection and response.

On March 24, a joint statement authored by Russia, the US, Spain, the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, Morocco, Finland, Australia, and the United Kingdom was released. The statement, presented before the Nuclear Security Summit, highlighted the progress made by the GICNT since the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit.

In May, Australia hosted the “Kangaroo Harbour” workshop and exercise in Sydney to promote best practices in international information sharing.

That same week, Australia also hosted a meeting of the Implementation and Assessment Group.

On 15-16 June, the GICNT commemorated its tenth anniversary in The Hague. GICNT partners reaffirmed their commitments to its Statement of Principles and its founding mission to improve the capacities of partner nations to combat nuclear terrorism through cooperation. Present members also reviewed the strengths and failings of the GICNT over the course of its ten-year existence.

From 19-21 October 2016, Romania and INTERPOL hosted the regional exercise “Olympus.” The exercise was designed to identify best practices for interagency coordination.

2015-2011

2015

On 26-28 January, Finland hosted the “Northern Lights” Nuclear Detection Working Group Workshop and Tabletop Exercise. Participants focused on investigating, detecting, and countering illicit trafficking involving nuclear and radioactive materials.

On 3-5 March, the Netherlands hosted the workshop and mock trial exercise, “Glowing Tulip.” The workshop emphasized strong legal practices with regard to out of regulatory control nuclear material, and worked with participants’ national laboratories to promote best practices and to support preparing expert testimony.

On 15-17 April, the Philippines hosted the Public Messaging for Emergency Management Workshop, “Sugong Bagani: Envoy Warrior.” The workshop focused on communicating with public in the event of a terrorist attack involving nuclear or other radioactive materials.

On 5-7 May, the European Union’s Joint Research Centre, Institute for Transuranium Elements, hosted the Joint Detection and Forensics Exercise, “Radiant City.” The exercise took place in Karlsruhe, Germany.

On 16-17 June, partner nations and official observers gathered for the 9th senior-level Plenary Meeting of the GICNT in Helsinki, Finland. During the meeting, the United States and Russia were selected as the co-chairs for 2015-2019. In addition to highlighting recent achievements of the GICNT, the Plenary reviewed progress made by the IAG working groups, and discussed future plans for the Convention.

2014

On 4-7 February, Malaysia, with support from Australia, New Zealand and the United States, hosted the Tiger Reef Cross-Disciplinary Training Workshop and Tabletop Exercise on Nuclear Forensics in Kuala Lumpur. Experts from the GICNT’s Response and Mitigation Working Group (RMWG) and Nuclear Forensics Working Group (NFWG) attended the event.

On 20 March, the members of the GICNT, represented by the United States, Russia, Spain, Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, Australia, and Morocco, made a statement at the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit providing updates on the organization’s activities and reaffirming the need for “nuclear security collaboration.”

Also on 20 March, the GICNT RWMG convened a meeting in Amsterdam to discuss Morocco in the context of “International Cooperation to Enhance a Worldwide Nuclear Security Culture.”

2013

From 19-22 February, the GICNT Implementation and Assessment Group (IAG) met for the Mid-Year meeting in Madrid, Spain.

On 25-26 April, GICNT members Spain and Morocco initiated a two-day joint tabletop exercise called REMEX, demonstrating the proper response to a simultaneous attack from a radiological dispersal device.

On 24 May, the 2013 GICNT Plenary Meeting was held in Mexico City, Mexico. Participants discussed progress made since 2011, revisiting workshops and conferences hosted by GICNT nation-states. The Implementation and Assessment Group (IAG) also reported on its activities since 2011. Spain finished its term as IAG Coordinator, and the GICNT endorsed South Korea as IAG Coordinator for the next two years. The next Plenary Meeting will be held in 2015 in Finland.

2012

On 21 March, the Co-Chairs (Russia and the United States) of the GICNT issued a statement on the contributions of the GICNT to enhancing nuclear security.

In May, Canada hosted RADEX 2012, an exercise devoted to the reaction of a state to the threat of a terrorist attack using a radiological dispersal device. It also discussed obstacles to information sharing between states and ways to improve communication.

In May, Australia also hosted Iron Koala: Information Sharing during Smuggling Events. The event featured discussion on combatting nuclear trafficking through information sharing, assessment of previous responses to unregulated radioactive material, and breakout groups on the complexities of nuclear smuggling. The event’s attendees were 79 delegates from 24 nations.

In September, Russia hosted an exercise called “Guardian 2012.” The event discussed nuclear detection response and countering nuclear terrorism.

In November, the United Kingdom hosted the 2nd Symposium on Enhanced Detection of Special Nuclear Material.

2011

In February Spain hosted a GICNT mid-year Implementation and Assessment Group (IAG) meeting. The technical meetings focused on the working groups on nuclear detection and nuclear forensics. The meetings also granted technical experts the ability to craft a framework for developing practical products for partners to effectively counter nuclear terrorist activities.

On 22-25 March, Morocco hosted an exercise called “Rabat 2011.” The exercise sought to enhance national capacities to detect and respond to incidents involving radioactive materials. Discussions of operational and policy concepts took place along with hands-on demonstrations on responding to such incidents.

In May, the United Kingdom hosted the “Radiological Exercise Design & Development Workshop.” The workshop focused on providing participants the basic tools in order to conduct nuclear and radiological emergency exercises. Participants were advised on how to develop exercise objectives, design and manage emergency scenarios, and later effectively evaluate the exercise.

On 30 June, formal participants and official observers met in Daejeon, Republic of Korea for the fifth consecutive GICNT Plenary Meeting. The Russian and United States co-chairs brought attention to Spain who was the first coordinator of the Implementation and Assessment Group (IAG). A full report of IAG progress was provided by the coordinator to the members. Furthermore, the IAG coordinator proposed adding a third priority functional area of “response and mitigation” in addition to the two areas of nuclear detection and nuclear forensics. Lastly, it was decided that the next plenary session would be hosted in Mexico in 2013.

2010-2006

2010

The 2010 GICNT Plenary Meeting convened on 28-29 June in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Mexico, Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, Argentina, and Thailand joined the GICNT, bringing the total participants number to 82. Actions undertaken during the meeting included: adoption of a revised terms of reference that more clearly defined participant roles and responsibilities and established concrete mechanisms for GICNT implementation; endorsement of the Russian Federation and the United States to continue to serve as GICNT Co-Chairs; agreement to activate the Implementation and Assessment Group (IAG) that will provide strategic oversight and coordination of future GICNT activities; selection of Spain as the first IAG Coordinator, and the establishment of nuclear detection and nuclear forensics as priority functional areas for the next year. Partner nations briefed participants on key outcomes of GICNT exercises. The meeting concluded with GICNT members committing themselves to continue contributing to workshops, practical exercises, information sharing, and all other forms of collaboration including use of the Global Initiative Information Portal (GIIP), an unclassified, secure website that enables partner nations to communicate and collaborate in one centralized location.

On 28-30 September Kazakhstan hosted a GICNT exercise on Countering the Financing of Nuclear Terrorism as well as the first meeting of the Implementation and Assessment Group (IAG). The conference brought together law enforcement, financial and non-proliferation experts to investigate and develop holistic approaches to countering the financing of nuclear terrorism, as well as run simulations to test existing international standards and programs. The IAG meeting established the work of the body for the years to come and created working groups on nuclear detection (led by the Netherlands) and nuclear forensics (led by Australia).

2009

On 14-16 June, GICNT Plenary Meeting took place in the Hague, Netherlands, focusing on “enhancing international partnerships by sharing best practices.” In a statement to the Conference, the United States President Barack Obama expressed his full support for the Initiative and welcomed 75 nations that joined it. GICNT partners welcomed INTERPOL as a new official GICNT observer. Participants committed to continue outreach efforts to further expand participation in key regions around the word and to strengthen the GICNT through civil society, particularly the relevant business sector, in GICNT meetings and activities.

2008

22 States joined the GICNT in 2008. On 6 June, under the framework of the GICNT Kazakhstan and eight other states conducted a counterterrorist exercise “Atom-Antiterror 2008” simulating terrorists seizing a nuclear facility on the outskirts of Almaty.

From 16-18 June, 56 of the 76 GICNT members attended the fourth meeting of the GICNT in Madrid, Spain. Topics included strengthening detection and forensics, denying safe haven and financing to terrorists, and deterring terrorist intentions to acquire and use nuclear devices. Partner nations stressed the need for increased cooperation between counterterrorism and counterproliferation communities.

2007

The second meeting of the GICNT took place in Ankara, Turkey on 12 February. The IAEA attended the meeting as an observer and provided participants information about its main activities in 2007. GICNT partners reviewed specific activities consistent with the purpose of the GICNT and scheduled them for 2007-2008.

In concurrence with the meeting, the United States hosted the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism Law Enforcement Conference which aimed at helping GICNT members to better investigate, prevent, and respond to sudden strikes by terrorists using nuclear devices or other radioactive materials.

At the third meeting of the GICNT in Astana, Kazakhstan, on 11-12 June GICNT members reviewed the list of planned activities for 2007-2008. The meeting also focused on more clearly defining the goals and mission of the GICNT, and identifying ways to involve more States.

2006

On 15 July, the United States President George W. Bush and Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin announced the creation of the GICNT.

Representatives from the United States, the Russian Federation, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Turkey, and the United Kingdom attended the first meeting of the GICNT from 30-31 October in Rabat, Morocco.