Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie D. Jenkins Travels to Vienna for Key Conference on the Protection of Nuclear Material

Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie D. Jenkins will lead the U.S. delegation to the first ever Review Conference of the Parties to the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, where she will deliver the national statement.  The conference will be hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna from March 28 to April 1.

The Convention and its Amendment – known as the A/CPPNM – greatly strengthens international peace and security.  It does so by providing an international framework for the physical protection of nuclear material and nuclear facilities used for peaceful purposes. It also criminalizes the theft or sabotage of such material and facilities and enhances international cooperation and information sharing among States Parties.  Moreover, when countries implement the A/CPPNM, the nuclear security measures they put in place can enhance public confidence in the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology that are so critical to reaching sustainable development goals.

Today, 164 countries are party to the Convention and 129 to the Amendment, with Brazil recently becoming the 129^th.  This conference will give all participating countries the opportunity to exchange information on best practices, challenges to implementation, and lessons learned, and to continue momentum toward universalization of the treaty.  Nuclear security is essential to the world’s collective security, and it is vital that all States join the United States and others from all regions of the world as parties to the A/CPPNM.  At the conference, the United States and its partners will work to gain support for a robust and regular review process of the A/CPPNM and a subsequent review conference.