The Nuclear Security Summit, aimed at rallying global efforts to keep nuclear materials from falling into the hands of terrorists, ended in Washington Tuesday with a communique and a work plan.

Leaders from 47 countries and three international organizations attending the summit reaffirmed their commitment to the suppression of nuclear terrorism, vowing to work together to make relevant international convention more effective.

The objective of the summit was clear: ensure that terrorists never gain access to plutonium or highly-enriched uranium, the essential ingredients of a nuclear weapon.

Moreover, the two-day summit sent a clear message to the international community: Without concerted international efforts, the goal of locking down nuclear materials in four years will be hard to reach.

Indeed, many countries have now realized the importance of locking down nuclear materials.

There are more than 2,000 tons of plutonium and highly enriched uranium in different countries, which could be sold or stolen and fashioned into nuclear weapons.

In addition, terrorist groups and other "non-state" actors including al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups have been trying all means to acquire the dangerous materials for making nuclear weapons.

According to Yukiya Amano, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), nuclear material related incidents are running rampant. Worldwide, "too much nuclear and radioactive material is not properly secured," Amano said Tuesday at a working luncheon.

"On average, every two days, the IAEA receives one new report on incidents involving illicit trafficking of nuclear or radiological material," he added. "Terrorists have become bolder and are not afraid of using weapons of mass destruction."

Between 2002 and 2009, the IAEA received some 1,400 reports on nuclear material related incidents. "Terrorists will quickly exploit the weakest link in any security system. The challenge is global, and the response must be global," the IAEA official said.

The "non-binding" nature of the communique and the work plan adopted at the summit poses a great concern of nuclear security as the participating countries can easily discard both papers if they want.

Therefore, Chinese President Hu Jintao called for concerted international action by all countries to enhance nuclear security while stressing the need to properly address the challenge.

"The potential threat of nuclear terrorism cannot be neglected, and the risk of nuclear material diversion and illicit trafficking is on the rise," Hu warned in his speech at the summit.

To tackle the problem, it is necessary to establish a special mechanism featuring compulsory obligations for all countries.

Although progress has been made in this regard, there is a tone of discord at the summit as French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced at the summit that France will never give up nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, Ukraine, Canada and Malaysia expressed their willingness to offer individual undertakings to tighten controls or reduce nuclear stocks.

In addition, the United States and Russia have agreed that they each dispose of at least 34 metric tons of excess weapon-grade plutonium each -- 68 metric tons total -- enough for making approximately 17,000 nuclear weapons.

Although there is a long way to go, raising worldwide awareness of the threat appears to be a first step forward.

Go to Forum >>0 Comments