On October 8, 2013, the Permanent Mission of Hungary to the United Nations in Vienna, in cooperation with the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Nonproliferation (VCDNP), organized the second Seminar on Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Security, entitled “Developing a Comprehensive Security Culture.”
The experience of Vienna-based organizations in this area provides a useful basis for efforts by international, regional, and subregional organizations, by NGOs, and also by states themselves, as these bodies aim at developing a comprehensive security culture.
The seminar was also part of the “house gift” offered by Hungary at the second Nuclear Security Summit, held in Seoul in April 2012. At Seoul we committed to organize practical training courses for experts at our nuclear power plant in Paks, working in cooperation with the IAEA. The Vienna seminar sought to identify lessons-learned in the area of security culture, in an attempt to understand the implications of these lessons for the area of weapons of mass destruction. This effort may serve as a starting point for a more detailed examination of these issues, both furthering the objectives of UNSCR 1540 and resulting in an enhanced level of CBRN security overall.
Speakers at the seminar included Dr. Paul Walker, international program director for the Environmental Security and Sustainability Program, Green Cross International and Global Green USA. In his presentation, Dr. Walker emphasized the importance of responding to the combined challenges of instability, poverty, and environmental degradation to ensure a sustainable and secure future. Dr. Amy Smithson (senior fellow, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies) delivered two presentations that provided a global picture of biological and chemical threats, focusing on science, responsibility, and the risk of nonproliferation. Dr. Johannes Rath of the University of Vienna spoke about a comprehensive approach to ethics and security. The nuclear aspects of security culture were covered by Muhammed Khaliq from the IAEA Office of Nuclear Security and by Dr. Roger Howsley, director of the World Institute for Nuclear Security. Dr. Howsley focused on personnel training, certification, and accountability.
The seminar followed up on the International Conference on Nuclear Security, organized by the IAEA between July 1-5, 2013, in Vienna. The conference was chaired by Foreign Minister János Martonyi of Hungary, and was a useful step in preparation for the third Nuclear Security Summit, to be held in The Hague in April 2014.
Ambassador Balázs Csuday
Permanent Representative of Hungary to the UN and other International Organizations in Vienna
