The Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) is an international organization consisting of 89 countries that have endorsed a set of nuclear security principles for nuclear terrorism deterrence, prevention, detection, and response. It is co-chaired by the United States and Russia. [1] The organization aims to develop partnership capacity to combat nuclear terrorism, consistent with national legal authorities and obligations as well as relevant international legal frameworks such as the Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, and United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1373 and 1540. [2]
On July 16, 2006, Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin jointly announced the organization of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT). The GICNT is a voluntary initiative aimed at fostering international cooperation in order to prevent terrorists from acquiring, transporting, or using nuclear materials or radioactive substances, deter hostile actions against nuclear facilities, and respond to incidents involving the use of radiological or nuclear materials. GICNT participants work to unite experience and expertise from the nonproliferation, counter-proliferation, and counter-terrorism fields; strengthen global activities and institutions through the integration of collective capabilities and resources; and maintain a network for partners to share information and expertise in a legally non-binding capacity. [3]
The founding 13 nations gathered in Rabat, Morocco, on October 30–31, 2006, for the first Plenary Meeting and agreed to a framework for the partnership, and a system for organizing events and charting nation progress. The Statement of Principles was the final product that guides GICNT efforts. Any country may choose to officially endorse in order to become a partner of the GICNT. [4]
On April 5, 2009, President Barack Obama in his Prague Speech called for making the GICNT a "durable international institution." The historic 2010 Nuclear Security Summit, which President Obama initiated and hosted, highlighted the contributions of the GICNT to international efforts to combat nuclear terrorism.
The June 29, 2010, Plenary Meeting in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, resulted in several changes to the GICNT. The partnership adopted a revised Terms of Reference, activated an Implementation and Assessment Group (IAG), selected Spain as the Coordinator for the IAG, and selected the U.S. and Russia to continue serving as the Co-Chairs.
During the May 24, 2013, Plenary Meeting in Mexico City, Mexico, the partnership endorsed the Republic of Korea as the IAG Coordinator for a two-year term. During the June 17, 2015, Plenary Meeting in Helsinki, Finland, the partnership endorsed the Netherlands as the IAG Coordinator for a two-year term.
During the June 5, 2019, Plenary Meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina the GICNT welcomed the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) as an Official Observer organization. The partnership also endorsed the Kingdom of Morocco as the IAG Coordinator for the term 2019-2021. [5]
While the GICNT has garnered many members and held many events, there are some in the academic community who believe there is room for expansion and improvement. In a piece evaluating the GICNT, the Stimson Center notes that the GICNT will be useful for countries to fulfill their UNSCR 1540 commitments. [6] However it points out that many countries that fissile material cannot afford the funds and manpower needed to implement necessary safeguards, and the GICNT does not provide a mechanism to address this shortcoming. [7] WMD Insights published a similar piece that applauded the expansive growth of the GICNT. At the same time, it recognized that this large partnership could impede nations' ability to "harmonize their long-term research and development programs" as well as construct detailed plans for dealing with the "sources, magnitude, and appropriate responses to nuclear terrorist threats." [8] Finally, George Bunn writes that the GICNT is an important first step but has failed to rapidly upgrade security for nuclear stockpiles and places few demands on a country for membership. [9]
Nuclear terrorism refers to any person or persons detonating a nuclear weapon as an act of terrorism. Some definitions of nuclear terrorism include the sabotage of a nuclear facility and/or the detonation of a radiological device, colloquially termed a dirty bomb, but consensus is lacking. In legal terms, nuclear terrorism is an offense committed if a person unlawfully and intentionally "uses in any way radioactive material … with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury; or with the intent to cause substantial damage to property or to the environment; or with the intent to compel a natural or legal person, an international organization or a State to do or refrain from doing an act", according to the 2005 United Nations International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism.
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is both a defense agency and a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense (DoD) for countering weapons of mass destruction and supporting the nuclear enterprise. According to the agency's website, its mission states that "DTRA provides cross-cutting solutions to enable the Department of Defense, the United States Government, and international partners to Deter strategic attack against the United States and its allies; Prevent, reduce, and counter WMD and emerging threats; and Prevail against WMD-armed adversaries in crisis and conflict." The agency is headquartered in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) is a global effort that aims to stop trafficking of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), their delivery systems, and related materials to and from states and non-state actors of proliferation concern. Launched by United States President, George W. Bush in May 2003 at a meeting in Kraków, Poland, the PSI has now grown to include the endorsement of 105 nations around the world, including Russia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Argentina, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, New Zealand, Republic of Korea and Norway.
Robert G. Joseph is a senior scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy. He was the United States Special Envoy for Nuclear Nonproliferation, with ambassadorial rank. Prior to this post, Joseph was the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, a position he held until January 24, 2007. Joseph is known for being instrumental in creating the Proliferation Security Initiative and as the architect of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism. He was also the US chief negotiator to Libya in 2003 who convinced the Libyans to give up their WMD programs. He also recently authored a book describing his experience in negotiating with Libya entitled "Countering WMD."
The Australian Intelligence Community (AIC) and the National Intelligence Community (NIC) or National Security Community of the Australian Government are the collectives of statutory intelligence agencies, policy departments, and other government agencies concerned with protecting and advancing the national security and national interests of the Commonwealth of Australia. The intelligence and security agencies of the Australian Government have evolved since the Second World War and the Cold War and saw transformation and expansion during the Global War on Terrorism with military deployments in Afghanistan, Iraq and against ISIS in Syria. Key international and national security issues for the Australian Intelligence Community include terrorism and violent extremism, cybersecurity, transnational crime, the rise of China, and Pacific regional security.
The United States and the Republic of Kazakhstan established diplomatic relations on December 16, 1991. The United States opened its embassy in Almaty in January 1992 and then relocated to Astana in 2006.
The counter-terrorism page primarily deals with special police or military organizations that carry out arrest or direct combat with terrorists. This page deals with the other aspects of counter-terrorism:
United Nations Security Council resolution 1540 was adopted unanimously on 28 April 2004 regarding the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The resolution establishes the obligations under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter for all member states to develop and enforce appropriate legal and regulatory measures against the proliferation of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons and their means of delivery, in particular, to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction to non-state actors.
The Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism of the United States Congress was set up "to assess, within 180 days, any and all of the nation's activities, initiatives, and programs to prevent weapons of mass destruction proliferation and terrorism." The Graham/Talent WMD Commission was also asked to provide concrete recommendations- a roadmap- to address these threats.
Presidential Decision Directive 62 (PDD-62), titled Combating Terrorism, was a Presidential Decision Directive (PDD), signed on May 22, 1998 by President Bill Clinton. It identified the fight against terrorism a top national security priority.
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is a United States federal agency responsible for safeguarding national security through the military application of nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile; works to reduce the global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the United States Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the United States and abroad.
The 2010 Nuclear Security Summit was a summit held in Washington, D.C., on April 12 and 13, 2010. The Summit focused on how to better safeguard weapons-grade plutonium and uranium to prevent nuclear terrorism.
The 2012 Nuclear Security Summit was a summit held at the COEX Convention & Exhibition Center in Seoul, South Korea, on March 26 and 27, 2012. It was the second time the conference was held after the 2010 Nuclear Security Summit.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1535, adopted unanimously on 26 March 2004, after reaffirming resolutions 1373 (2001), 1377 (2001) and 1456 (2003), the council restructured the Counter-Terrorism Committee to enhance the implementation of anti-terrorism measures.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1624, adopted unanimously at the 2005 World Summit on 14 September 2005, after reaffirming previous resolutions on terrorism, including resolutions 1267 (1999), 1373 (2001), 1535 (2004), 1540 (2004), 1566 (2004) and 1617 (2005), the Council called on all states to co-operate in order to strengthen the security of their international borders by enhancing terrorist screening and passenger security procedures.
The G7-led Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction is an international security initiative announced at the 2002 G8 summit in Kananaskis, Canada, in response to the September 11 attacks. It is the primary multilateral group that coordinates funding and in-kind support to help vulnerable countries around the world combat the spread of weapons and materials of mass destruction (WMDs).
The vulnerability of nuclear plants to deliberate attack is of concern in the area of nuclear safety and security. Nuclear power plants, civilian research reactors, certain naval fuel facilities, uranium enrichment plants, fuel fabrication plants, and even potentially uranium mines are vulnerable to attacks which could lead to widespread radioactive contamination. The attack threat is of several general types: commando-like ground-based attacks on equipment which if disabled could lead to a reactor core meltdown or widespread dispersal of radioactivity; external attacks such as an aircraft crash into a reactor complex, or cyber attacks.
The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) is a state intelligence agency of Georgia, under the authority of the Government, which covers a broad spectrum of tasks to preserve national security in accordance to state legislature and relevant laws. Its missions are to protect the constitutional order, sovereignty, territorial integrity and military potential of Georgia from illegal acts of special services and individuals of foreign countries; to prevent violent and unconstitutional change of order and state authority. Further it is to ensure economic security and fight terrorism on national and international level, transnational organized crime and international crime as well as carry out measures towards prevention, detection and suppression of corruption.
The UN Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) was an instrument designed to roll out the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
The Republic of Kazakhstan became a member of the United Nations on March 2, 1992. Kazakhstan was elected to serve on the UN Security Council for the 2017–2018 term. UN Secretary-General António Guterres in remarks to the UNSC recognized Kazakhstan's work to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction and global non-proliferation efforts.
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