The Hague, the capital of the Netherlands will host the international Nuclear Security Summit on March 24 and 25, 2014. The Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will chair the event. He said: ‘The amount of nuclear material in the world is enormous. If it falls into the hands of terrorists, the consequences could be disastrous. The international community must do everything in its power to prevent this. As chair of the Nuclear Security Summit, I am determined to make it a success. In this way, the Netherlands will contribute to a safer world.’
The aim of the summit (NSS) is to reduce the amount of nuclear material in the world and improve its security. Fifty-three countries and four international organisations are taking part in the negotiations. The diplomatic and organisational preparations have been in progress for some time.
‘It is important for global leaders to attend the summit in person,’ said foreign minister Frans Timmermans. ‘If you want to make agreements on transnational measures, the direct involvement of the highest political leaders is essential. This will allow us to achieve results that would otherwise take much longer or perhaps prove impossible.’
The NSS is the biggest summit ever held in the Netherlands. The arrival of 58 world leaders will necessitate special traffic and security measures.
‘It’s a huge project,’ said the mayor of The Hague, Josias van Aartsen. ‘An unbelievable number of organisations are involved, from ministries and the police to private parties such as Schiphol airport and the public transport company HTM. The aim is to ensure that the summit proceeds smoothly, safely and in a dignified manner. The preparations are in full swing at the relevant ministries and agencies and at city hall.’
The NSS is an initiative of US President Obama. The first summit was held in Washington in 2010, and the second in Seoul in 2012. At President Obama’s request, the Netherlands is organising. Visit – https://www.nss2014.com
Meanwhile in a January 7 event at Lancaster House in London, Home Office minister James Brokenshire hailed the UK’s work on nuclear forensics. He said: “The Conventional Forensics Analysis Capability can recover fingerprints, fibres, DNA and other traditional trace forensics markers from material that have been contaminated with radiological, nuclear or explosive materials.
I had the pleasure of opening the facility in May 2012 and seeing first hand its state of the art nature.
I also saw how complex nuclear forensics is. It is a time consuming, meticulous process that enables subject matter experts to draw inferences about nuclear and radiological material.
We must remember that nuclear forensics is just one part of a multifaceted picture.
Our expertise in this area must be embedded and integrated into our existing law enforcement and operational systems, to provide a seamless end to end capability for managing nuclear security incidents.
And there is long chain to consider. For example intelligence analysis, crime scene management, evidence collection and handling, the chain of custody of evidence from crime scene to laboratory, conventional forensics techniques, nuclear forensics techniques and preparing for prosecution.
Our nuclear forensics capabilities play a part in a wider criminal investigative effort to detect nuclear crime and prosecute any offenders.
It therefore follows that nuclear forensics techniques must be legally compliant, so the evidence stands up in court and supports successful prosecutions.
That’s why it’s important to set the capabilities in this broader context and framework to ensure it can be used effectively and bring those responsible to justice.
But nuclear forensics is just one part of the UK’s work on nuclear security and one tool in the toolbox for countries that need a comprehensive programme to mitigate the risks of nuclear security.”
