2005 AMENDMENT TO THE CONVENTION ON THE PHYSICAL PROTECTION OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL AND THE INTERNATIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS ON PHYSICAL PROTECTION OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL AND FACILITIES IN INFCIRC/225/REV.4

Since INFCIRC/225/Rev.4 was published in 1999, new international standards for the physical protection of nuclear material and nuclear facilities have been developed, the most important of which are in the 8 July 2005 Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM). Adopted at a diplomatic conference meeting at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 4-8 July 2005, the Amendment incorporates Physical Protection Objectives and Fundamental Principles (PPOs&FPs) endorsed by the IAEA Board of Governors and General Conference in September 2001, just after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Since then terrorist acts have occurred around the world and concerns about illicit trafficking in nuclear materials, improvised nuclear devices and dirty bombs have heightened. Although the PPOs&FPs were derived from the recommendations in INFCIRC/225/Rev.4, those recommendations are no longer fully congruent with them or the Amendment. Both the Amendment and PPOs&FPs contemplate that each State will establish, implement and maintain an appropriate physical protection regime applicable to nuclear material and nuclear facilities and aimed at meeting the PPOs and applying insofar as reasonable and practicable the FPs. The regime, among other things, would be based on the State's current evaluation of the threat as applicable to nuclear material and nuclear facilities under the State's jurisdiction. Insofar as reasonable and practicable the physical protection regime would include preparation and exercise of contingency (emergency) plans to respond to unauthorized removal of nuclear material or sabotage of nuclear material or nuclear facilities or threats thereof by all license holders and authorities involved in emergency planning and preparedness. Both the Amendment and PPOs&FPs were drafted to be universally applicable to all States having nuclear material or nuclear facilities within their jurisdiction. This paper will present ideas on how INFCIRC/225/Rev.4 might be revised to achieve appropriate harmony with the Amendment and PPOs&FPs and encourage implementation of the recommendations insofar as reasonable, practicable and appropriate. If this is done, countries following the recommendations in INFCIRC/225/Rev.5 would then have confidence that they would be implementing the PPOs&FPs and, should they become a party to the Amendment, would be meeting their physical protection obligations under it.