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Concerns over the possible proliferation of nuclear WMDs by terrorist groups led to the forming of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT). U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the GICNT in 2006. With the goal of fostering international cooperation in order to prevent the acquisition, transport, or use of nuclear materials by terrorists, this voluntary international partnership has a membership of 86 nations and five international organizations.

The GICNT works toward this goal by conducting multilateral activities that strengthen the plans, policies, and procedures of partner nations. In addition to its member nations, the GICNT also partners with five organizations with interests in nuclear proliferation: the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the European Union (EU), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI).

Since the attacks of 9/11, the United States has led a concerted world effort in taking measures to build a strong defense against the threat of nuclear terrorism. The U.S. government announced the first National Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction in 2003. A number of multinational initiatives including the Global Partnership against the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction, the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, and the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) have helped greatly reduce the threat of nuclear WMDs landing in the hands of non- state actors and terrorists.

RESOLUTION 1373

The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1373 in 2001. Under this resolution, all UN member states are prohibited from providing any support, active or passive, to terrorists. These states also make the commitment to work together in limiting the movement of suspected terrorist groups.

RESOLUTION 1540

In 2003, President Bush announced the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI). This global effort has been imperative in halting the trafficking of nuclear WMDs, their delivery systems, and related materials to and from states and non-state actors. States that belong to the PSI conduct exercises to improve their operational capabilities, meeting periodically to develop new operational concepts and share information.

The United States has also worked with its allies through the United Nations and the IAEA to reduce the threat of terrorists acquiring these weapons.

 

The Office of Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism was created within the U.S. Department of State’s International Security and Nonproliferation Bureau in 2005. This Office carries the mission to work with domestic and international partners in developing a global

Efforts to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism

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