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Next Generation Nuclear Security Summit - April 12-13, 2010
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fissile materials working group

The Fissile Materials Working Group (FMWG), a nongovernmental coalition of over 40 U.S. experts representing many of the top nonproliferation and nuclear security organizations in the country and also includes several international partner organizations.  Members of the FMWG collaborate in a series of meetings designed to create consensus behind top fissile materials priorities, develop actionable policy proposals, and package recommendations for implementation by U.S. and foreign government officials.

The FMWG has been a forceful presence in support of improved fissile material security and the prevention of nuclear terrorism.  Important milestones for the FMWG include the publication of its consensus recommendations to the Obama Administration for improving nuclear material security (September 2009); the convening of a summit of international experts and supporting events in support of the official Nuclear Security Summit (April 2010); and a series of regional meetings to explore international perspectives on nuclear security (October 2010 - April 2011).  These activities highlight the urgency of this agenda and engage a broad array of international stakeholders.  Please click here for a summary of the FMWG's acitivites to date.  To view the FMWG's condensed work plan, please click here.

Media Contact:
Sean Harder
sharder@stanleyfoundation.org
319-455-6397


The Steering Committee is comprised of the following professionals:

  • Kenneth N. Luongo, President, Partnership for Global Security (co-chair)
  • Alexandra Toma, Executive Director, Connect U.S. Fund (co-chair)
  • Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom; Co-Principal Investigator, Energy Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment (ERD3) Policy Project, Harvard University
  • Togzhan Kassenova, Associate, Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  • Miles Pomper, Senior Research Associate, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
  • Jennifer Smyser, Program Officer, Policy and Outreach, The Stanley Foundation
  • Sharon Squassoni, Director and Senior Fellow, Proliferation Prevention Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
  • Benn Tannenbaum, Non-Resident Fellow, Center for Science, Technology, and Security Policy, American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • Paul Walker, Director, Security & Sustainability, Global Green USA
     

Key Staff:

Ryan Costello
FMWG Coordinator
202-721-5600 x. 5724
 

Michelle Marchesano
mmarchesano@partnershipforglobalsecurity.org
202-332-1412

FMWG: Five Ways Obama Can Secure Nuclear Material
Dec3
Posted by Michelle Marchesano
Release Date: 
9/30/2009

The Fissile Materials Working Group (FMWG), a group of non-governmental experts working collectively to support the Obama administration’s goal to “secure all vulnerable nuclear materials around the world in four years,” has made a series of policy recommendations in a letter to President Obama. This working group believes in the Administration’s four-year policy objective and will work to see that it is achieved in the U.S. and internationally.

The working group is recommending the Obama Administration implement five high-priority policies:

  • Launch a new “Next-Generation Nuclear Security Initiative” at or before the nuclear summit that includes a new global nuclear material security roadmap, a plan for broader international scientific cooperation to prevent nuclear theft and terrorism, and a political and technical action plan to achieve the four-year goal.
  • Accelerate efforts to secure and eliminate global highly enriched uranium (HEU), plutonium, and nuclear weapon stockpiles, including in the United States, with an immediate focus on minimizing the number of locations at which fissile materials are stored.
  • Implement the policy of minimizing HEU use by including in the policy HEU use in all of its manifestations and create a timetable for a ban on the civil use of HEU.
  • Request and aggressively pursue sufficient domestic and international funding for removing and securing all vulnerable nuclear materials in four years.
  • Extend and expand the G-8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction for another 10 years, reconfiguring it to have a global focus. 
Contact Information: 

Ken Luongo, kluongo@partnershipforglobalsecurity.org, (215)523-9041
Alexandra Toma, atoma@connectusfund.org, (202)728-8686

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fissile_material_policy_recommendations_to_the_obama_administration.pdf49.28 KB
FMWG Recommendations Stanley Press Release.doc56.5 KB