IAEA ENERGIZING FOR NUCLEAR SECURITY SUMMIT

UNCLAS UNVIE VIENNA 000344 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR T, S/SANAC, IO, ISN, VCI DOE FOR NA-20, NA-23, NA-24, NA-25 NRC FOR OIP - DOANE, HENDERSON, SCHWARTZMAN NSC FOR SAMORE, HOLGATE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC PTER KNNP TRGY MNUC SUBJECT: IAEA ENERGIZING FOR NUCLEAR SECURITY SUMMIT -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Hitching his wagon to the President's priority issue, IAEA DG-designate Amano is expressing his ambition that the Agency figure substantively in the concept and conduct of the global nuclear security summit in March 2010. Apparently spurred by Amano, IAEA DDG Taniguchi and Nuclear Security program chief Nilsson invited Charge to an early exchange of views on July 16. The Secretariat presented several topics for discussion at the summit, including: the definition of nuclear security, recognizing and giving due emphasis and resources to its many facets, improving national emergency response and preparedness, and enunciating a forward-looking global security vision and the role of the IAEA in that vision. End Summary. -------------- Security Tops Amano's List -------------- - ¶2. (U) Charge met July 16 with IAEA Deputy Director General for Safety and Security Tomihiro Taniguchi and directors in his department -- Anita Nilsson of the Office of Nuclear Safety, and Warren Stern of the Incident and Emergency Center. Director General ElBaradei's Chef de Cabinet Antoine van Dongen also participated. (Comment: Van Dongen's unprecedented presence in a meeting between Mission and a DDG may relate to his positioning himself for the Amano era. End Comment.) Taniguchi and Nilsson had asked for a meeting soon after the announcement of the March 2010 date for the global nuclear security summit. They wanted to discuss the purpose of the summit, how IAEA could participate, and to suggest topics for discussion. ¶3. (U) DDG Taniguchi opened the meeting by stressing that DG-elect Amano has stated he will focus on security during his tenure. Taniguchi said there were a lot of important security issues and that these issues needed to be viewed as a whole, not piecemeal as in the past. For example, he stated we need better thinking with regard to the protection of installations. Up to now the IAEA has been more focused on physical protection, but that needs to be balanced with a focus on internal sabotage and other issues. He also stressed that all attention on sources has been on the control of sources, better protection for those using sources, and recovery �A;of orphan sources. But, he said, there should also be a focus on the monitoring, tracking and mapping of the sale and movement of sources. It is more cost effective to track sources while in use than to clean up or recover later after use, he argued. ¶4. (SBU) Taniguchi also stressed that the commitment to nuclear security is improving in many countries in the last few years and that the IAEA will now focus on the gaps in the Global Nuclear Safety and Security Regime. He believes that an important topic for the March summit should be the definition of nuclear security: What does it include and what does it not include? He expressed the view that world leaders are looking at many security-related issues such as non-proliferation, terrorism, and arms control in an "emotional" and fragmentary way. He said that some facets of security are "neglected" while other areas are "over exaggerated". The summit should discuss what the definition of nuclear security is and then raise awareness that all parts of security must be addressed. ¶5. (SBU) Discussion turned to the need to raise the awareness of security issues to a political level. Office of Nuclear Security (ONS) Director Nilsson opined that, generally, developing nations realized the importance of security once there was an incident in their country. She advocated clear initiatives that are action oriented, and stated the summit presents a unique opportunity to look at security in a global perspective. -------------- Secretariat Proposes Themes -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Nilsson suggested three related topics or structural elements for discussion at the summit. First, participating states should project the goals for the future of global nuclear security and declare their intention to work towards those goals. These should including common norms, conventions and treaties, interactions, and confidence building. (Comment: Although she did not specify it, "common norms" means IAEA security standards, and there has been IAEA-internal discussion about encouraging "universal adherence" to these standards. End Comment.) ¶7. (U) Second, Nilsson stated the summit should consider how best to handle the legacy of the past, including minimizing the civil use of HEU, securing and removing vulnerable materials, and building strong infrastructure to establish and sustain effective nuclear security. Thirdly, she stated that the summit should consider what role the IAEA should play in supporting global efforts to reach and maintain the goals. ¶8. (U) Nilsson indicated that the Office of Nuclear Security's four-year plan (2010-13) will be completed by the time of the summit. (Comment: This document outlines the plans and goals for the IAEA for the coming years. It will be reviewed and approved by the board and would therefore have the nominal support of 148 IAEA Member States. It could be presented at the summit as an important tool to reach some of the summit goals. It would also allow participants to understand the role IAEA can play at the international level. End Comment.) -------------- Emergency Response -------------- ¶9. (U) IAEA Incident and Emergency Center Director Stern commented that the summit would be an excellent opportunity to further endorse and promote security and emergency response and preparedness conventions. He mentioned that the summit could call on all States to join the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency. Further, the summit could encourage all States to enhance, where necessary, their own preparedness and response capabilities for nuclear and radiological incidents and emergencies, including their arrangements for responding to acts involving the malicious use of nuclear or radioactive material and to threats of such acts, and to adopt and implement relevant international standards and guidelines to harmonize international arrangements. ¶10. (U) Finally, he said, it would be helpful if the summit encouraged States to agree to compare emergency response capabilities with the objective of identifying and correcting any gaps or incompatibilities in capabilities among the states. The initiative could also identify best practices and capabilities to be shared among the states. -------------- Regional Meeting in Japan -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Taniguchi raised that the Agency and Government of Japan are organizing a regional nuclear security meeting in Tokyo this fall. Originally, this meeting was going to be technically focused. However, since the announcement of the summit, Japan has been considering ways to raise the discussion to the policy level, to help tee up discussions at the summit. Taniguchi further suggested the IAEA might host similar preparatory events in Africa and South America. ¶12. (SBU) Charge expressed interest in the purpose and scope of this meeting and asked that Secretariat brief Mission representatives in more detail in a separate meeting. Noting that we await guidance regarding many aspects of the March summit, Charge also urged that the Secretariat refine its ideas and work with Mission staff to develop clear, detailed proposals that can be transmitted to Washington soon, as summit planning begins in earnest. Mission Nuclear Safety Attache plans to begin relevant consultations with the Secretariat in the last week of July. PYATT