Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism

The Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) was announced at the G-8 summit in St Petersberg in July 2006 as a joint initiative of Russia and the United States. 

GICNT aims to increase co-operation in areas including to:
 * Improve accounting, control, and physical protection of nuclear material and radioactive substances, as well as security of nuclear facilities;
 * Detect and suppress illicit trafficking or other illicit activities involving such materials, especially measures to prevent their acquisition and use by terrorists;
 * Respond to and mitigate the consequences of acts of nuclear terrorism;
 * Ensure cooperation in the development of technical means to combat nuclear terrorism;
 * Ensure that states takes all possible measures to deny safe haven to terrorists seeking to acquire or use nuclear materials; and
 * Strengthen our respective national legal frameworks to ensure the effective prosecution of, and the certainty of punishment for, terrorists and those who facilitate such acts.

An initial meeting of the GICNT's founding partners is planned for October 2006. The Australian Minister for Foriegn Affairs, Alexander Downer, stated in a media release that the first meeting will "adopt a Statement of Principles and work plan. Partnership will subsequently be open to all states on a voluntary basis."

Related SourceWatch Resources

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