On 16 September 2013, Cuba and Malta deposited their respective instrument of ratification of the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) with the IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano, during the IAEA Treaty Event held during the 57th IAEA General Conference.
Director General Amano in his statement to the General Conference highlighted his Nuclear Security Report 2013 containing detailed information on the Agency's broad range of services to Member States to help ensure that nuclear and other radioactive materials, as well as associated facilities, are properly protected. In this context, Director General Amano also drew attention to the strengthening of nuclear security by ratification of the Amendment to the CPPNM by Member States. He stressed that eight years after its adoption, the Amendment has still not entered into force and called upon all States to adhere to the Amendment at the earliest opportunity. Director General Amano emphasized that the Treaty Event organized by the Agency was designed to promote the universal adherence to multilateral treaties deposited with the IAEA, which included the Amendment to the CPPNM.
On accepting the instruments of ratification by Cuba and Malta, the Director General noted that the CPPNM is moving closer to its entry into force, a concrete step in strengthening global nuclear security.
With these latest ratifications, the Amendment to the CPPNM now has 70 Contracting States. As of to-date, adherence by an additional 28 States is still required for the Amendment to enter into force.
The Amendment will enter into force when two-thirds of the States Parties to the Convention have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval. To date the Convention has 147 States Parties (plus one Party which is an international organization). The two-thirds majority of States Parties required to bring the Amendment into force would presently total 98 States Parties.
The Amendment to the CPPNM was adopted on 8 July 2005. Whereas the obligations for physical protection under the CPPNM cover nuclear material during international transport, the Amendment to the CPPNM makes it legally binding for States Parties to protect nuclear facilities and material in peaceful domestic use, storage and transport. It also provides for expanded cooperation between and among States regarding rapid measures to locate and recover stolen or smuggled nuclear material, mitigate any radiological consequences of sabotage, and prevent and combat related offences.