By Shen Dingli
The International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of
Nuclear Terrorism will take effect on July 7. This is the 13th
international anti-terrorism convention within the United Nations'
framework.
With this convention in place, the agreements reached by the
international community have basically covered all aspects in
fighting terrorism.
What is most important is that the convention defines nuclear
terrorism as a crime against humanity. It follows, therefore, that
the domestic laws of the signatory countries and international laws
must be oriented to suppressing dissemination of nuclear terrorism
and its implementation.
International cooperation, in this regard, is naturally called
for within the framework of the convention.
The convention has filled a gap in international laws, in terms
of fighting nuclear terrorism.
International terrorism takes multiple forms. And terrorist acts
are increasingly taking on a cross-border nature as the flow of
personnel, materials and information quickens in our era of
globalization.
The September 11 terror attacks six years ago was by far the
most shocking. The event also spurred the government of the victim
country to take disproportionate revenge, which has, in turn,
served to intensify tumult and chaos in the Middle East.
So, it is safe to state that terrorism and the anti-terror fight
are two primary factors that combine to power the transformation of
the 21st-century's international framework.
The murderous attacks by hijacked planes ramming into the twin
towers of New York's World Trade Center simply pale into
insignificance when compared to the devastation wrought by possible
nuclear or radioactive weapons set off by terrorists.
In August 1945, the United States dropped two atom bombs on the
Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leveling the two cites
and killing thousands of people. The bomb that hit Nagasaki, for
instance, killed 120,000 people, much more than those who perished
in the September 11 attacks.
It should be noted that each nuclear bomb's TNT equivalent was
merely 20,000 tons. Today, the average TNT equivalent of a nuclear
bomb is several more times than the ones dropped in 1945.
In view of all this, the devastation wrought on humanity by the
combination of terrorism and nuclear weapons could defy our worst
imagination.
Worse still, the technology of processing fissile materials,
which is at the core of building a nuclear bomb, has become widely
proliferated.
So far, several countries have mastered the technology of
extracting fissile materials. Over the last decade, India, Pakistan
and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea have claimed they
have acquired nuclear weapons.
In addition, lawful and illegal transfer of nuclear materials
happens time and again, which means that the distance between
non-governmental bodies bent on obtaining nuclear weapons and their
accessing fissile materials is being dramatically shortened. It is
more than likely today that radioactive materials could be used in
terror attacks.
Taking all this into account, it might be purely a stroke of
good luck that humanity has so far remained safe from the harms
wrought by nuclear terrorism.
Confronted by the grave situation, the international community
must be galvanized into action. The formulation of the
International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear
Terrorism is the embodiment of the international community's
determination to stave off nuclear terrorism.
It states clearly that all acts doing harm to a country or an
international organization by obtaining radioactive materials,
nuclear materials, nuclear devices and facilities fall under the
category of nuclear terrorism.
The convention requires that signatory countries amend their
domestic laws in a bid to suppress the brewing of nuclear terrorist
acts on their soil. It also demands signatory countries cooperate
in anti-nuclear terror vigilance, terrorist acts, heading them off,
investigation, information sharing and extradition of
criminals.
Through seven years of negotiations, the international community
has reached agreement on the convention which was first suggested
by Russia in 1998. September 11 and nuclear smuggling incidents
have hastened its formulation.
The 59th United National General Assembly passed the convention
in April 2005 More than 30 countries, including China, Russia and
the United States, signed the convention that very year.
It was agreed that the convention would go into force when a
total of 22 countries sanctioned it. On June 7, Bangladesh approved
the convention, making up the required number.
China is a nuclear country, possessing civilian-purpose nuclear
applications. A number of civilian-purpose nuclear reactors have
been constructed and are in operation. Many more are under
construction or are being planned.
Now as the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts
of Nuclear Terrorism takes effect, it will give China more
opportunities for international cooperation in reinforcing the
country's relevant laws and regulations, and strengthening the
protection of sensitive nuclear materials. All this, in turn, will
facilitate our efforts in fighting cross-border nuclear
terrorism.
The author is director of the Center for American Studies
with the Shanghai-based Fudan University.
(China Daily?June 26, 2007)
