The session ‘Attacks on civilian infrastructure: How to ensure the safety and security of nuclear power plants in an armed conflict’ was organized by SIPRI at the 2022 Stockholm Security Conference ‘Battlefields of the Future: Trends of Conflict and Warfare in the 21st Century—Effects and Impact of the War in Ukraine’. #SthlmSecCon
The Russian military’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the ensuing events—including seizures of nuclear installations, detention of personnel and attacks on infrastructure by state forces—call for a rethink of basic assumptions in nuclear safety and security. In normal circumstances, existing national and global regimes account for risks, and often they seek to prevent, detect and respond to incidents that may involve malicious intent. But many existing instruments, including the International Convention on the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT), the activities of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Nuclear Security Series guidance documents, target exclusively non-state actors. Moreover, the scale of threat to nuclear power plants evidenced in Ukraine is unprecedented.
This session considers means to strengthen the nuclear safety and security regime against potential sustained, long-term and large-scale threats, including from state actors and in conflict conditions, such as in Ukraine. It explores the extent to which regime resilience exists, including the viability of national and regional response and assistance plans. Experts will provide policy recommendations for how different stakeholder groups can contribute to upholding nuclear safety and security even in the most extreme of circumstances.
Moderator:
Vitaly Fedchenko, Senior Researcher, Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme, SIPRI
Discussants:
Mona Ali Khalil, Public international lawyer
Robert E. Kelley, Distinguished Associate Fellow, SIPRI
Anita Nilsson, Former Director, Office of Nuclear Security, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
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