Nuclear Security Summit

The fourth Nuclear Security Summit being held in Washington DC from today will be attended by the leaders of more than 50 countries, including PM Modi.

What is a Nuclear Security Summit? When did it start?

The Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) is a world summit, aimed at preventing nuclear terrorism around the globe. The first summit was held in Washington, D.C., United States, in 2010.

What are the key goals of the NSS?

The goal of the NSS is to address concerns about fissile material falling into the wrong hands at a head-of-state level. It includes minimizing the use of highly enriched uranium (HEU), bolstering security at nuclear facilities through enhanced national regulations and implementation of best practices, enhanced membership in international instruments and organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), instituting measures to detect and prevent illicit trafficking in nuclear and other radioactive materials, and Centers of Excellence, build capacity, develop technology and coordinate assistance on nuclear Security.

How many countries are participating in the fourth NSS?

This summit will be attended by 53 countries and five global institutions, which cover 98% of the nuclear material on the planet. Iran and North Korea are not invited, and Russia’s President Putin who attended the first three summits, will stay away due to his differences with President Obama over Ukraine.

The twin goals for the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit are:

•  Advancing tangible improvements in nuclear security behavior.
• Strengthening the global nuclear security architecture.

Action plans:

Action Plans on nuclear security will be endorsed for international organizations and institutions (International Atomic Energy Agency, United Nations, INTERPOL, Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, and Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction).

What are the limitations of the NSS process?

• As NSS covers nuclear material only for non-military purposes, 83% of the nuclear material falls outside its ambit.
• Despite its intent, the NSS has also not been able to amend the IAEA’s convention on nuclear safety.
• The fact that there is no legally binding outcome at the end of six years of NSS process is its major drawback. The NSS process has instead focused on asking countries to tighten their national laws, rules and capabilities on nuclear security. This has meant that military facilities are treated as national responsibilities and dealt as per international obligations.

What has been India’s contribution to the NSS?

India has played an active role at the summits with the first two being attended by then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. As part of the house gift, India made a voluntary contribution of one million dollars to the Nuclear Security Fund and has established a Global Centre of Excellence for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCENEP), where more than a dozen national and international training programmes have been conducted so far.

Threats faced by India:

India is a source of nuclear material and a potential target of nuclear terrorism. While India takes pride in the security of its nuclear installations, ‘orphan sources’ i.e devices with radioactive materials outside regulatory and security measures could pose serious risks.

According to a recent report by the Washington DC-based Nuclear Threat Initiative, India also has groups that want to acquire nuclear material. The report that ranked India low in nuclear security measures, cited corruption as a key reason that could compromise its nuclear facilities.

Security experts have identified at least four types of specific threats that terror outfits pose-

• These groups could acquire a nuclear weapon from the arsenal of a nuclear state.
• They could acquire enough fissile material to construct an improvised nuclear device.
• They could acquire radioactive material from civilian sources such as hospitals or university laboratories that could be mixed with conventional explosives to make a radioactive dispersal device or ‘dirty bomb.’
• Terror groups could also sabotage a nuclear facility leading to large-scale loss of lives and destruction.