IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei is participating in sessions of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where leaders are meeting this week on a range of issues affecting the world´s efforts to fight poverty, spur sustainable development, and bolster security.
Among other issues, Dr. ElBaradei is focusing attention on steps he sees as urgent for the world´s nuclear security regime, notably in the run-up to the next review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The regime "clearly needs reinforcement," he said. "In recent years, three phenomena — the emergence of a nuclear black market, the determined efforts by additional countries to acquire the technology to produce the fissile material useable in nuclear weapons, and the clearly expressed desire of terrorists to acquire weapons of mass destruction — have radically altered the security landscape."
He emphasized that steps can be taken to reinforce the regime, citing proposals he has made toward building a stronger "collective security framework". He is urging States to act on the steps at the upcoming NPT Review Conference, which convenes in May 2005 at UN headquarters in New York. (See Story Resources.)