CNS Co-Hosts Its First Nuclear Security Capacity-Building Workshop in Africa

On April 18-22, the Institute’s James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies and the African Center for Science and International Security (AFRICSIS) conducted their first joint capacity-building workshop on nuclear security in Africa. AFRICSIS, an independent, science-based non-profit organization established by Institute alumnus Hubert Foy MAIPS ’10, hosted the workshop in partnership with the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission.

The workshop, which took place in Accra, Ghana, brought together twenty-five representatives from nuclear regulatory authorities, atomic energy commissions, research and academic institutions, and foreign and defense ministries from 12 African states: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Tunisia, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The workshop sought to provide participants with a solid understanding of nuclear security challenges, and the tools and mechanisms needed to develop and implement effective national nuclear security systems. It also served as a forum for experts from various countries to network, engage, and discuss how to address threats of nuclear terrorism and collectively contribute to strengthening nuclear security and nonproliferation, both in Africa and globally.

In addition to CNS experts Elena Sokova, Miles Pomper, and Margarita Sevcik, speakers included representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Several experts from African countries also delivered presentations, including Dr. Iyabo Usman from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, Ibrahim Abdulmajeed (a former CNS fellow) from the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority, Professor Ayo Kuye from the University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria, and Hubert Foy from AFRICSIS in Ghana.

The workshop agenda covered a wide array of topics ranging from the fundamentals of the nuclear fuel cycle and peaceful uses of nuclear technologies to the various components of nuclear security system, such as physical protection and nuclear security culture. Other topics included past nuclear legacies, current threats of nuclear terrorism, the history of nuclear security summits, and the roles of international organizations and mechanisms, such as the IAEA and UN Security Council Resolution 1540, in strengthening nuclear security.

In addition to training sessions, AFRICSIS organized a tour with the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, where participants visited a research reactor that is currently being converted from using highly enriched uranium as fuel to low-enriched uranium. In addition, the group visited radioactive waste storage and accelerator facilities.

The workshop received wide coverage by Ghana’s national media outlets, including a TV news report featuring Elena Sokova, Hubert Foy, and Miles Pomper.

Workshop sponsors included the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The U.S. Department of State’s Partnership for Nuclear Security funded participants from the partner states of Nigeria and South Africa.