The International Forum on Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Security - Post-Nuclear Security Summit Efforts to Maintain International Momentum on Nuclear Security and Technical Contributions to Nuclear Disarmament - was held in Tokyo, Japan, on 29 November 2016.
The event was co-organized by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA); the Center for the Promotion of Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, Japan Institute of International Affairs; the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Management, School of Engineering; the University of Tokyo; and the Laboratory for Advanced Nuclear Energy, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology.
The forum was an opportunity to discuss specific measures to maintain the Post-Nuclear Security Summit momentum for strengthening nuclear security as well as effective activity measures for the Centres of Excellence (CoE) to support human resources development and capacity building to meet the needs of partner countries and organizations in enhancing nuclear security in Asia. Moreover, the meeting served as a platform to exchange ideas on how Japan could maintain the momentum towards nuclear disarmament amid growing calls within Japan for the abolition of nuclear weapons as symbolized by the U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Hiroshima. In particular, during the forum it was discussed the significance of participation by non-nuclear-weapon states in verification operations for nuclear disarmament, as well as possible procedures and technical measures for verification.
Representatives from Indonesia, the International Atomic Energy Agency, Japan, Norway, the Republic of Korea, the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), the United States of America and the Verification Research Training and Information Centre participated in the panel discussion and interacted with the public through the Questions and Answers sessions.
Ms. María Eugenia Rettori, Outreach Strategy and Planning, Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Risk Mitigation and Security Governance, UNICRI, shared experiences related to the European Union CBRN Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence (CoE) Initiative, with a particular focus on the activities that strengthen nuclear security in South East Asia including capacity building projects and National Action Plans.