The physical protectionof nuclear material from theft or unauthorised diversion and
nuclear facilities from sabotage is part of the bulwark against nuclear
proliferation. Physical protection also
serves to protect people and property from the effects of nuclear sabotage. The
Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) opened for signature in
1980, and has been ratified by 64 states. The Convention recognises that
physical protection is the responsibility of sovereign states, and that each
state will implement a selection of measures according to its national
requirements and the perceived threat.

A limitation in the Convention is that the standards it sets
out are obligatory only for nuclear material used for peaceful use while in
international nuclear transport, a limitation seen by many as a very
significant shortcoming. States have
discretion whether to apply the CPPNM standards domesticallyAustralia does so,
under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
(Safeguards) Act 1987, but many other Parties do not.

A further issue is that the Convention, while setting broad
parameters for protecting international shipments of nuclear material, does not
offer detailed guidance on how to effect physical protection. This need has been met by the IAEA in its
guidance document INFCIRC/225, now in Revision 4 (1999). While not bindingindeed given the very
nature of physical protection and the fact that this is a national
responsibility, some would see this as one of its strengthsINFCIRC225/Rev.4
details specific measures which should be considered for physical protection
and, in contrast to the CPPNM, covers domestic as well as international use,
storage and transport.

In 1999, the Director General of the IAEA convened an
Informal Open-Ended Expert Meeting to discuss whether there is a need to revise
the CPPNM, to extend its scope to expressly include domestic use, storage and
transport. After 18 months work, the
Expert Group (of which ASNO was a permanent member) was unable to reach
consensus that the CPPNM should be revised, but all agreed on the clear need to
strengthen physical protection worldwide. While some members of the Expert Group are still to be convinced of the
need to revise the CPPNM, none was willing to let the matter rest and thus, in
May 2001, the Expert Group recommended to the DG IAEA that he take the next
step towards revision and convene a group of technical and legal experts to
draft a well-defined amendment to strengthen the CPPNM. Further, drawing on
work done for the Nuclear Safety Convention in 1994, the Expert Group developed
a set of physical protection Objectives and Fundamental Principles (see Annex
L)which it hopes will be endorsed by the IAEA Board of Governors.

It is understood that the DG IAEA intends to act on the recommendations
of the Expert Group. ASNO anticipates
that a technical and legal experts group will be convened in 2001-02, and
Australia will be active in promoting a revision aimed at strengthening the
Convention.