International Conference on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe: Key Issues and Findings

(Summary by the Organizational Committee) 

On May 24-25, 2007, fifty seven independent experts in global security, arms control and disarmament from fourteen countries met at an international conference in Luxembourg to discuss the prevention of a nuclear catastrophe and ways of strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation regime. The Conference was addressed by a number of Honorary guests:  Jean Asselborn - Deputy Prime Minister,  Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration of Luxembourg; Mohamed  ElBaradei - Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency; Hans Blix - Chairman of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission, former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency;  Rolf Ekeus - High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; Sergey Kirienko - Head of the Russian Federal Agency for Atomic Energy; Nikolay Laverov - Vice-president of the Russian Academy of Sciences;  Academician. The Chairman of the Organizational Committee of the Conference was Viatcheslav Kantor - Chairman of the European Jewish Fund.

Participants of the Luxembourg Conference concluded that the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the related nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime are facing unprecedented challenges and need high-level political support to sustain and strengthen it.  

It was emphasized in particular, that the greatest threat for the foreseeable future stems from the possibility of terrorist organizations' gaining access to nuclear explosive devices or nuclear materials. It was also indicated that there is a growing danger of the final collapse of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the whole non-proliferation regime triggered by a failure in resolving North Korean and Iranian on-going nuclear crisis. It was noted that the most aggravating factor is the problems of poor compliance and weak enforcement of non-proliferation obligations, the lack of commitment of nuclear weapon states to nuclear disarmament, their continuing reliance on nuclear deterrence and the disintegration of nuclear arms control and disarmament process.

Conference participants have emphasized that the above developments will undercut not only regional, but also global security, and raise the danger of terrorist use of nuclear explosive devices or combat employment of nuclear weapons. The participants agreed that this situation must be addressed in the utmost urgency by the international community.

Declaration of the Luxembourg conference will be presented shortly to United Nations Secretary General, the Member States of the United Nations, the Group of Eight, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Collective Security Treaty Organization and other authoritative international organizations.

The Conference organizers plan to establish a permanent Luxembourg Forum with the purpose of holding policy-oriented conferences and meetings of experts and issuing policy-relevant publications on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament on a regular basis.