World Leaders Vow To Fight Nuclear Terrorism

World leaders Tuesday pledged strong action to combat the threat of nuclear terrorism, including minimising civilian use of highly enriched uranium (HEU) that can be used to make bombs.

The statement was issued at the end of a 53-nation nuclear security summit on safeguarding atomic material usable for weapons but also for energy and medical treatment.

The final communique omits a reference to the need for “concrete steps” towards a world without nuclear weapons, a phrase which had been included in a draft communique dated March 21 and seen by AFP.

The leaders merely “reaffirm our shared goals of nuclear disarmament, nuclear proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy”.

A Seoul government official told AFP on condition of anonymity that some nations had been uncomfortable about expanding the scope of the summit into nuclear weapons reduction and disarmament, and the call for concrete steps.

“Nuclear terrorism continues to be one of the most challenging threats to international security,” the communique says. “Defeating this threat requires strong national measures and international cooperation.”

The leaders, including US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao, welcome “substantive progress” on national commitments made at the first nuclear security summit in Washington in 2010.

The document stresses the “fundamental responsibility” of all nations to safeguard nuclear material and keep it out of the hands of terrorists.

It urges all countries to accede to international conventions on protecting fissile material, and reaffirms the central role of the UN’s atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Leaders emphasise the need to secure stocks of HEU and plutonium. They encourage nations to minimise the use of HEU, including the conversion of reactors from HEU to low-enriched uranium fuel which cannot be weaponised.

Since lower-level radioactive materials are widely used “and can be vulnerable to malicious acts”, nations are urged to secure them.

The communique also calls for effective inventories and tracking mechanisms for nuclear material and the development of forensics capacities to determine its source.

It announces that the next summit will be in the Netherlands in 2014.