Rohlfing Op-Ed Calls for a “New Approach” to Nuclear Security

"Next week, more than 50 global leaders will gather in The Hague for the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit," writes NTI President Joan Rohlfing in a new op-ed for Project Syndicate. "This year’s conference marks the initiative’s third meeting since 2010, continuing a process that seeks to raise awareness about the threat of nuclear terrorism and catalyze much-needed action to secure the materials that terrorists would need to make a weapon."

Rohlfing calls for leaders to agree on the need for a global nuclear security system and offers four key principles to underpin such a system:

1. The system should cover all weapons-useable materials, including nuclear materials used for military purposes.
2. The system should employ international standards and best practices.
3. All states should commit to measures that reassure other states that their security practices are sound, while protecting sensitive information.
4. All states should commit to reducing – and, where possible, eliminating – their nuclear weapons-usable materials.

"As our leaders convene to discuss the issue, let us hold them accountable for achieving the goal of securing all weapons-usable nuclear materials before the summit process ends in 2016," she writes. "Until that happens, the threat of nuclear terrorism will persist."

Read the op-ed.