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Road Towards Entry Into Force of Key Nuclear Security Agreement

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Hernán Estrada Román, Resident Representative of Nicaragua to the IAEA, depositing his country’s instrument of acceptance of the Amendment to the CPPNM to IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano. (Photo: D. Calma/IAEA)

Nicaragua accepted the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM), bringing the number of adherences to 102 countries, the threshold required for this important security agreement to come into effect in 30 days. The Amendment will, therefore, enter into force on 8 May 2016.

In his meeting today with IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano, Ambassador Hernán Estrada Román, Resident Representative of Nicaragua to the IAEA, deposited his country’s instrument of acceptance of the Amendment.

08.04.2016: Uruguay Ratifies CPPNM Amendment

Bruno Javier Faraone Machado, Resident Representative of Uruguay to the IAEA, depositing his country’s instrument of ratification of the Amendment to the CPPNM to IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano. (Photo: D. Calma/IAEA)

Uruguay ratified the Amendment to the CPPNM, bringing to just one the number of adherences still required for its entry into force.

In his meeting today with IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano, Ambassador Bruno Javier Faraone Machado, Resident Representative of Uruguay to the IAEA, deposited his country’s instrument of ratification of the Amendment.

01.04.2016: Montenegro Ratifies CPPNM Amendment

Slavica Milačić, Ambassador of Montenegro to the IAEA (l), depositing her country’s instrument of ratification of the Amendment to the CPPNM to Aldo Malavasi, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications. (Photo: D. Calma/IAEA)

Montenegro ratified the Amendment to the CPPNM, bringing to just two the number of adherences still required for its entry into force.

In his meeting with Aldo Malavasi, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, Ambassador Slavica Milačić, Resident Representative of Montenegro to the IAEA, deposited her country’s instrument of ratification of the Amendment.

01.04.2016: Kuwait Ratifies CPPNM Amendment

Kuwait ratified the Amendment to the CPPNM today, bringing to just three the number of adherences still required for its entry into force.

01.04.2016: Cameroon Ratifies CPPNM Amendment

Cameroon ratified the Amendment to the CPPNM today, bringing to just four the number of adherences still required for its entry into force.

31.03.2016: Azerbaijan Ratifies CPPNM Amendment

Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, depositing his country’s instrument of ratification of the Amendment to the CPPNM to IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano. (Photo: C. Brady/IAEA)

Azerbaijan ratified the Amendment to the CPPNM, bringing to just five the number of adherences still required for its entry into force.

In his meeting in Washington with IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano, Elmar Mammadyarov, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, deposited his country’s instrument of ratification of the Amendment.

“The IAEA has worked hard in the last few years to encourage countries to adhere to the Amendment to the CPPNM and our efforts have been paying off, it is finally close to entry into force,” Mr Amano said.

30.03.2016: Marshall Islands Ratifies CPPNM Amendment

Junior Aini, Chargé d'Affaires ad interim at the Embassy of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in Washington, depositing his country’s instrument of ratification of the Amendment to the CPPNM to IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano. (Photo: F. Dahl/IAEA)

Marshall Islands ratified the Amendment to the CPPNM, bringing to just six the number of adherences still required for its entry into force.

In his meeting with IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano, Junior Aini, Chargé d'Affaires ad interim at the Embassy of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in Washington, deposited his country’s instrument of ratification of the Amendment.

30.03.2016: Serbia Ratifies CPPNM Amendment

Vuk Žugić, Ambassador of Serbia to the IAEA (r), depositing his country’s instrument of ratification of the Amendment to the CPPNM to Aldo Malavasi, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications. (Photo: D. Calma/IAEA)

Serbia ratified the Amendment to the CPPNM, bringing to just seven the number of adherences still required for its entry into force.

In his meeting with Aldo Malavasi, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, Ambassador Vuk Žugić, Resident Representative of Serbia to the IAEA, deposited his country’s instrument of ratification of the Amendment.

24.03.2016: Pakistan Ratifies CPPNM Amendment

Ayesha Riyaz, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the IAEA, depositing her country’s instrument of ratification of the Amendment to the CPPNM to IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano. (Photo: D. Calma/IAEA)

Pakistan ratified the Amendment to the CPPNM, bringing to just eight the number of adherences still required for its entry into force.

“Ratification of the Amendment to the CPPNM demonstrates Pakistan's credentials as a responsible nuclear power state, which has put in place the highest level of security at par with the latest international standards in the field," said Ambassador Ayesha Riyaz, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the IAEA, when depositing her country’s instrument of ratification of the Amendment to IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano.

"With Pakistan’s ratification, the momentum towards entry into force continues,” said Mr Amano. “I encourage countries to help strengthen nuclear security by adhering to this important Amendment so it can come into force as soon as possible."

Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs' press release

18.03.2016: New Zealand Accepts CPPNM Amendment

Deborah Geels, Resident Representative of New Zealand to the IAEA (r) and Janice Dunn Lee, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Management. (Photo: D. Calma/IAEA)

New Zealand accepted the Amendment to the CPPNM, bringing to just nine the number of adherences still required for its entry into force .

"The potential humanitarian, economic and environmental consequences of terrorists gaining access to nuclear or radioactive materials are so grave that the New Zealand Government is doing all within its power to minimise the possibility of this nightmare becoming a reality," said Ambassador Deborah Geels, Resident Representative of New Zealand to the IAEA.

11.03.2016: Paraguay Ratifies CPPNM Amendment

Horacio Alberto Nogués Zubizarreta, Ambassador of Paraguay to the IAEA, depositing his country’s instrument of ratification of the Amendment to the CPPNM to IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano. (Photo: D. Calma/IAEA)

Paraguay ratified the Amendment to the CPPNM, bringing to just ten the number of adherences required for its entry into force.

“We are now approaching the finishing line,” said IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano. “I hope that after a decade the Amendment can finally come into force in the very near future, making it harder for terrorists to get their hands on nuclear material or to sabotage a nuclear facility.”

In a meeting with Mr Amano, the Ambassador of Paraguay to the IAEA, Horacio Alberto Nogués Zubizarreta, deposited his country’s instrument of ratification of the Amendment. The IAEA Director General is the depositary of the Convention and also the Amendment.

The CPPNM, the only legally binding international undertaking in the area of physical protection of nuclear material, entered into force in 1987. It focuses on the physical protection of nuclear material used for peaceful purposes during international transport but did not cover the protection of nuclear facilities. In 2005, the Parties to the Convention adopted the Amendment to broaden the scope of the original Convention to cover nuclear facilities and nuclear material in domestic use.

Nearly 2800 incidents involving radioactive material getting out of regulatory control have been reported to the IAEA by Member States since 1995. Only a few of these involve material that could be used to make a nuclear explosive device, but some could be combined with conventional explosives to create a dirty bomb.

Mr Amano urged all parties to the Convention who had not yet done so to adhere to the Amendment. “The Amendment’s entry into force is the single most important step which the world can take to strengthen nuclear security,” he said.

Two-thirds of the States Parties to the CPPNM must adhere to the Amendment for it to enter into force. The CPPNM now has 152 States Parties and the Amendment has 92 Contracting States.

Paraguay has been a Party to the CPPNM since 8 February 1987.

CPPNM Amendment adherences since September 2015

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