Image: SIPRI Director Tilman Brück delivers introductory remarks at the Nuclear Security seminar held at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Stockholm.
On 13 February SIPRI and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Stockholm held a seminar in anticipation of the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague. The event formed part of the celebration of 400 years of friendship and close diplomatic ties between Sweden and the Netherlands.
Much of the discussion at the event focused on the particular role and interests of countries in the Nordic/Baltic region. At the meeting there was a shared view that it was desirable—and, eventually, necessary—to move the discussion of nuclear security from a series of high level summits to a multilateral process. However, there were different views on how to approach reaching that goal.
The view was expressed that nuclear security was currently defined in narrow, technical terms—with a heavy focus on combating nuclear terrorism—and unlikely to capture the interest and sustained engagement of the international community. Those who took this position advocated expanding the scope of nuclear security to include issues of more general concern—such as the security of commercially sensitive information, reducing the risks posed by state-level corruption, and balancing the need for an integrated energy strategy against the concerns of society over the (real or perceived) risks attached to the nuclear industry.
Others emphasized the practical difficulty of managing a process that expanded to incorporate too many new and diverse issues, and the risk that the momentum gained through the nuclear security summits could be lost, and perhaps some of the undoubted accomplishments even put at risk, if the process became too diffuse.
The seminar, entitled ‘Strengthening Nuclear Security: Northern European perspectives,' featured a host of government, industry, and civil society representatives. Introductions were delivered by Dr Philip de Heer, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Sweden, and SIPRI Director Professor Tilman Brück. The seminar's agenda (PDF) was divided into three sessions—on the roles of states, industry and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), respectively—which mirrored the proposed focus of the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit.
The first session examined the extent to which states are currently involved with regulating nuclear security, while also considering the role they ought to play based on historical precedent. The panel featured Ambassador Piet de Klerk, the Dutch Sherpa for the upcoming Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague; Lars van Dassen from Swedish Radiation and Safety Authority and Swedish sous-Sherpa; and Håkan Åkesson from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Swedish Sherpa.
The second session added the viewpoint of the industries to the mix, further developing the question of which entities should hold responsibility for ensuring nuclear security. This session explored the various aspects of security that industry must prioritize and the chief challenges to security that they face. Huub Rakhorst, Managing Director at URENCO Nederland B.V. and Mats Ladeborn, Director of Nuclear Development at Vattenfall AB gave their input as industry representatives from the Netherlands and Sweden, respectively.
The final session supplied the perspective of non-governmental experts. This session centered around the dynamics of cooperation between politicians, industry, and civil society in ensuring that nuclear security is maintained. It emphasized the role of civil society in the sphere of security and safety. It also considered the outlook for nuclear education today and how it can be improved in the future. The panellists included Sico van de Meer, Research Fellow at Clingendael, and Vitaly Fedchenko, Senior Researcher at SIPRI.
Karen van Stegeren, Deputy Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, delivered closing remarks.
Read more about the upcoming Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague. Browse SIPRI publications on arms control and non-proliferation.