December 2021 Global Dialogue

NTI convened the 14th meeting of the Global Dialogue on Nuclear Security Priorities outside of Paris, France on December 7-9, 2021. This meeting was the first-ever hybrid Global Dialogue meeting, attended by 17 participants in person and more than 30 participants joining via Zoom. Attendees included government officials from 11 countries, representatives from the European Union, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), INTERPOL, the United Nations, and industry and non-governmental experts from numerous other countries around the world.

The meeting addressed the following topics:

• National Preparations for the Amended Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (A/CPPNM) Review Conference: NGO partners summarized observations from six regional workshops on preparations for the CPPNM/A Review Conference that were convened by NTI and regional partners. These workshops were conducted in spring and fall of 2021 with participants from 53 states along with dozens of international and non-governmental organizations joining the discussion. The discussion focused on establishing a strong, enduring and sustainable Review Conference.  Participants also discussed potential content of national statements at the review, delegation compositions, information needed for preparations, and the role of NGOs in the review. More resources on the A/CPPNM and the Review Conference are available here.
• Strengthening the Narrative on Nuclear Security: The group discussed ways to build an inclusive narrative around nuclear security to highlight the range of benefits enjoyed from strong nuclear security practices. Suggestions included customizing messaging about nuclear security to different audiences, strengthen linkages between nuclear security and sustainable development, and building regular and inclusive dialogues at national and regional levels to increase the visibility of nuclear security.
• Reinvigorating a culture of deliverables: Participants considered how to best utilize major security events to showcase new national commitments and recent accomplishments to improve nuclear security, with the goal of establishing a culture of deliverables at these events. Events like the International Conference on Nuclear Security and IAEA General Conference are prime opportunities for senior government officials to highlight the important work accomplished to secure nuclear materials and future steps to continuously improve implementation of these measures.

The meeting was held thanks to the generous support of the Government of Canada.