On September 2nd, 2021, PGA’s International Peace and Security Program organized a Regional Caribbean Parliamentary Webinar promoting Nuclear and Radiological Security, kindly supported by Global Affairs Canada. 19 participants joined this Webinar, including representatives from Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, in addition to representatives from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Global Affairs Canada and well as PGA IPSP staff.
This Webinar was the second in a series of 8 such Webinars, two in each of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean which PGA will organize over the course of the next 12 months, aimed at facilitating and encouraging parliamentary diplomacy among female and male parliamentarians to promote greater universality and implementation of the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT), the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPNM) and its Amendment (ACPPNM).
The Webinar was opened by Mr. Peter Barcroft, Senior Director of PGA's International Peace and Security Program, providing an extensive overview of the contemporaneous importance of the subject matter of the event, also within the context of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the concomitant need for improved emergency preparedness to address several ongoing, existential threats. The importance of promoting the Women Peace and Security Agenda, mobilizing more women parliamentarians in this arena, was also underscored.
The first presentation from Ms. Francesca Andrian, Associate Program Officer of the CBRN Terrorism Prevention Program of the UNODC, introduced the participants to the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT) and UNODC’s related assistance programs and activities. The numerous benefits and advantages of joining ICSANT were also subsequently highlighted. The relevance and importance of ICSANT also in the context of implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1540 and the role of parliamentarians in its implementation – as set out in UN Security Council Resolution 2325 (2016) was also reflected upon for the benefit of all Participants.
The second presentation was made by Mr. Jonathan Herbach, Legal Officer – Nuclear and Treaty Law Section at the Office of Legal Affairs of the IAEA, who conducted an in-depth review of the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) and its Amendment, the numerous, substantial benefits accruing to States Parties as well as sharing with participants the wide range of peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology currently being deployed by IAEA, including in addressing zoonotic diseases.
Subsequently, Senator Wade Mark, Chair of PGA National Group, Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago, made a substantive and informative contribution, recalling his past contributions in promoting greater biological security within Trinidad and Tobago and in the Caribbean region as a whole. Sen. Wade Mark also observed how the current pandemic had regrettably opened the eyes of non-state actors to the potential for devastation caused by Weapons of Mass Destruction, including the use of nuclear and radioactive materials. Senator Mark went on to acknowledge that a number of countries in the Caribbean region are still not States Parties to the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of International Terrorism, the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials and its Amendment and the concomitant desirability on the part of participants to raise this matter through appropriate avenues.
A rich, extensive interactive session subsequently ensued among all participants, many inquiring about steps they could take in their own countries to promote greater adherence to the three treaties in question. Hon. Speaker Manzoor Nadir, from Guyana, said that it is important that PGA remains realistic in its expectations in the short term, but that ongoing engagement would be consequential in terms of seeking to make progress vis-à-vis the 3 treaties in question. Mr. Andy Daniel, immediate past Speaker of the Parliament of St. Lucia, for his part, recognized the immediate importance of the subject matter of the Webinar, the need to push home the message that the treaties in question are legally binding, as well as the importance of PGA continuing to work closely with Members of Parliament in St. Lucia. Thereafter, Hon. Ravi Ratiram, MP, Trinidad and Tobago, made the comment that it should not be forgotten that nuclear technologies can have crucial, peaceful applications as well, echoing what was articulated at greater length by Mr. Herbach from IAEA in his presentation, in particular in the arena of improved food safety and food security. Hon. Dr Varma Deyalsingh, MP, Trinidad and Tobago, inquired further about relevant international instruments regulating the transit/transshipment of nuclear materials and nuclear weapons in fragile areas and ecosystems, such as the Caribbean region.
Lastly, and before concluding, Mr. Florian Delsert, Program Associate, International Peace and Security Program, PGA made a brief presentation setting out a number of different, pragmatic steps that Parliamentarians can take to promote universalization of ICSANT, CPPNM and its Amendment, as well as sharing with participants how Women, and their health, both directly and indirectly, are disproportionately impacted by Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), hence the importance also of greater mobilization of female parliamentarians in this arena.
For further information on PGA International Peace and Security Program's Global Parliamentary Campaign to Promote Nuclear and Radiological Security, please click here
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