Key Nuclear Security Agreement to Enter Into Force on 8 May
Anthony Wetherall, IAEA Office of Legal Affairs ; Vincent Fournier, IAEA Office of Public Information and Communication
8 April 2016 News Story
A nuclear security agreement that will take effect on 8 May will reduce the risk of a terrorist attack on a nuclear power plant and make it harder to smuggle nuclear material.

The entry into force of the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) was secured today with the deposit of the instrument of ratification by Nicaragua, which brought the number of adherences to 102 States Parties to the CPPNM, the threshold required for the agreement to come into effect in 30 days. The Amendment, adopted more than a decade ago, will make it legally binding on countries to protect nuclear facilities. It will also extend the CPPNM’s application to nuclear material in domestic use, storage and transport.

“This is an important day for efforts to strengthen nuclear security around the world,” said IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano in a statement. The Amendment “will help reduce the risk of a terrorist attack involving nuclear material, which could have catastrophic consequences.”

The CPPNM, the only legally binding international undertaking in the area of physical protection of nuclear material, entered into force in 1987. It focuses on the physical protection of nuclear material used for peaceful purposes during international transport, but does not cover the protection of nuclear facilities or nuclear material in domestic use, storage and transport. In July 2005, the Parties to the CPPNM adopted the Amendment. The adherence of two-thirds of the States Parties to the CPPNM was required for entry into force of the Amendment. Currently, there are 152 State Parties to the Convention.

“The entry into force of the Amendment demonstrates the determination of the international community to act together to strengthen nuclear security globally,” Mr Amano said. He urged States Parties that have not yet done so to adhere to the Amendment.

What States have to do under the Amendment
The Amendment makes it legally binding for States to establish, implement and maintain an appropriate physical protection regime applicable to nuclear material and nuclear facilities under their jurisdiction. It provides for the criminalization of new and extended specified acts, and requires countries to put in place measures to protect nuclear material and nuclear facilities against sabotage.

The Amendment expands the existing offences identified in the CPPNM, including the theft and robbery of nuclear material, and establishes new ones, such as the smuggling of nuclear material and the actual or threatened sabotage of nuclear facilities. A number of the offences were also expanded to include substantial damage to the environment.

Read the full text of the Amendment here and a consolidated version of the Amendment and the CPPNM here…