World leaders: Nuclear terrorism a ‘grave threat’
JUSTIÇA DE SÃO PAULO DETERMINA QUE O MUNICIPIO AUTORIZE A EXPEDIÇÃO DE NOTAS FISCAIS ELETRÔNICAS.
9 de fevereiro de 2024
Por que Rússia deve crescer mais do que todos os países desenvolvidos, apesar de guerra e sanções, segundo o FMI
18 de abril de 2024World leaders have called
for closer co-operation to tackle the threat of nuclear terrorism at a
summit on nuclear security in Seoul.
A communique at the end of the summit reiterated a joint call to secure “vulnerable nuclear material”.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said nuclear terrorism
remained a “grave threat”, while US President Barack Obama said action
was key.
The meeting was dominated by North Korea’s plan to launch a rocket.
North Korea says the long-range rocket will carry a satellite
when it goes up in April. The US says any launch would violate UN
resolutions and constitute a missile test.
Iran’s nuclear programme was also on the minds of the summit
participants, with Mr Obama pledging to meet the leaders of Russia and
China on the sidelines to work towards a resolution.
‘Bad actors’
At the meeting, world leaders discussed measures to fight the
threat of nuclear terrorism, including the protection of nuclear
materials and facilities, as well as the prevention of trafficking of
nuclear materials.
The communique describes nuclear terrorism as one of the most
challenging threats to international security. But the responsibility to
maintain security over nuclear materials lies firmly with states rather
than international bodies. And any effort to try to establish or impose
common international standards inevitably raises concerns in some
quarters that the world’s major powers are seeking to intrude into the
nuclear affairs of other countries.
That’s why this communique reaffirms that measures to
strengthen nuclear security will not hamper the rights of states to
develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The summit urges states
to minimise the use of highly enriched uranium – one of the building
blocks for a nuclear bomb.
The summit highlights the threat from radioactive materials
more generally. But again all the summit can do is urge states to take
measures to secure these materials and work towards ratifying
international conventions on nuclear security. It is hardly a resounding
outcome from a gathering over-shadowed by the more immediate wrangling
over North Korea’s and Iran’s nuclear activities.
A joint communique reaffirmed their commitment to nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
“Nuclear terrorism continues to be one of the most challenging threats to international security,” it said.
“Defeating this threat requires strong national measures and
international co-operation given its potential global, political,
economic, social and psychological consequences.”
But it omitted a reference made in a draft communique last
Thursday on the need for “concrete steps” towards a world without
nuclear weapons, AFP news agency reports.
There are currently no binding international agreements on
how to protect nuclear material stored peacefully inside its home
country, says the BBC’s Lucy Williamson in Seoul. An amendment seeking
to do that is still unratified after seven years.
Addressing the summit, Mr Obama warned there were still “too
many bad actors” who were threatening to stockpile and use
”dangerous” nuclear material.
“It would not take much, just a handful or so of these
materials, to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people and that’s
not an exaggeration, that’s the reality that we face,” he said.
“The security of the world depends on the actions that we take.”
Mr Hu called for “an international environment conducive to
boosting nuclear security” to be created and Mr Lee called for concrete
action to tackle a threat that posed “a grave challenge” to peace.
The summit was attended by almost 60 leaders from around the world.
Rocket launch
Meetings on Monday were overshadowed by North Korea’s planned launch, scheduled to take place between 12 and 16 April.
Pyongyang says it is intended to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of North Korea’s founding leader Kim Il-sung.
On Tuesday, a North Korean
foreign ministry spokesman said that the launch would go ahead as
planned and criticised Mr Obama’s stance as ”confrontational”.
North Korea “will never give up the launch of a satellite for
peaceful purposes”, the spokesman said in a statement in the official
KCNA news agency.
A KCNA report also described the ”weather satellite”
Pyongyang planned to launch as useful for ”the study of weather
forecast needed for agriculture and other economic fields”.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, speaking at the
summit, called on Pyongyang to cancel the rocket launch, saying that it
would violate UN Security Council resolutions.
“As such, the international community strongly urges North Korea to exercise restraint and cancel the launch,” he said.
The resolutions were passed after a similar launch in April
2009. Japan is particularly concerned as that rocket was launched over
the country three years ago.
The US and Chinese presidents met on Monday on the sidelines
of the summit and agreed to co-ordinate their response to any “potential
provocation” if Pyongyang went ahead with the launch.
South Korea and the US say North Korea risks further
sanctions and isolation if it does not cancel its plans. Seoul has also
warned it will shoot down the rocket if it strays over South Korean
territory.
