India today called for strengthening of the global nuclear security framework to prevent "malignant actors" from getting access to atomic and radiological material, even as it asserted that nuclear security is the domain of national sovereignty.
Speaking at the IAEA Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Security here, Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar also reiterated India's commitment to global nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
"The sane world wants to prevent malignant actors from getting access to nuclear and radiological material and facilities. Recent developments show that terrorist use of WMD materials is not a theoretical concern. A breach of nuclear security could lead to unimaginable consequences," Akbar said.
"Our meeting is therefore critical, urgent and essential. It underlines the Agency's central role in strengthening the global nuclear security framework, in facilitating national efforts on nuclear security, in fostering effective international cooperation, in setting future priorities and in forging technical and policy guidance," he said.
He stated that the meeting must carry forward the legacy of the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) process.
Akbar asserted that India has always held that nuclear security is the domain of national sovereignty but this national prerogative demands national responsibility.
"All states must assume this responsibility and should scrupulously abide by their respective international obligations. Responsible national actions and effective international cooperation should be pursued together to prevent non-state actors and other malignant forces from threatening the lives of innocents on a mass scale, destabilising regional stability and international peace," Akbar said.
Akbar's remarks came after International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano said "nuclear terrorists" can strike anywhere.
"Ensuring effective nuclear security is important for all countries, including those which possess little or no nuclear or other radioactive material," Amano said at the start of a week-long ministerial conference on preventing misuse of radioactive materials and attacks on facilities.
Akbar, in his remarks said, "As a regular participant in the IAEA's Incident and Trafficking Database (ITDB), we encourage active participation of all member states in this network for sharing of information on illicit trafficking and other unauthorised activities or events involving nuclear and radioactive material."
India is ready to provide more financial and human resources to this task, not least by setting an example, he said.
"The security of nuclear and radiological material in India is constantly ensured through robust oversight by India's Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). IAEA's peer review mechanisms like the Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) have acknowledged the strength of AERB's regulatory practices and capabilities," he pointed out.
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Akbar also highlighted that with India having taken a leadership position in the effort to combat climate change, it will expand its nuclear energy capacity from the current level of around 6 Giga Watts to over 60 Giga Watts.
Noting that India is party to all the 13 universal instruments accepted as benchmarks for a state's commitments to combat international terrorism, he said India welcomes the entry into force of the 2005 Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPNM) this year.
"As we continue efforts to achieve universal adherence and reporting to these instruments, we must not forget the urgent task of closing out negotiations on a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the UN which has been under discussion since 1996. Such delay hints at a lack of collective will on an existentialist issue that has become the most serious threat to World peace since 1945," Akbar said.
India will continue to evolve technology against nuclear terrorism not only in terms of physical protection measures but also to guard against cyber intrusion and sabotage, he said.
"We will also continue to maintain and enhance export controls, in particular intangible controls, to complement nuclear security measures. We invite the Agency to take the lead in promoting work on the technology dimension of nuclear security," Akbar said.
He stated that India has contributed to measures to minimise Highly Enriched Uranium use by removing the enriched uranium based fuel in its oldest research reactor, APSARA.
"With regard to separated plutonium, India is strictly observing the principle of 'reprocess to reuse' whereby reprocessing of spent fuel and commissioning of fast reactors are being synchronised to preclude any build-up of a plutonium stockpile," he highlighted.
This approach is both proliferation-resistant and nuclear security friendly, Akbar stressed.
India will also host in New Delhi in February 2017 the Implementation and Assessment Group (IAG) meeting of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT), he noted.
"Maintaining effective nuclear security globally will require continuous national efforts backed by policy synergy and international cooperation fostered through the Agency. We hope that the outcome of this Ministerial Conference will reinforce the mandate of the Agency to enable it to perform its central role in strengthening the global nuclear security architecture," Akbar said.
"We know the extent of the critical danger. We must be equally clear about the depth, breadth and clarity of our response," he said.
