Experts: Nuclear Security Summit Offers Historic Opportunity

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

Rcostello@connectusfund.org

202-721-5600 x. 5724

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

Experts: Nuclear Security Summit Offers Historic Opportunity

Release Date:

4/6/2010

The upcoming Nuclear Security Summit offers an historic opportunity to forge new agreements to secure nuclear materials worldwide and prevent them from falling into the hands of terrorists, a group of nuclear experts told reporters at the National Press Club.

Four members of the Fissile Materials Working Group (FMWG), a collection of more than 40 leading experts in nuclear security and nonproliferation, said the summit itself is an important demonstration of a broad multinational commitment to nuclear material security that has not been made to date.

A successful summit would be marked by actionable and verifiable commitments by the more than 40 world leaders who will gather in Washington, D.C. April 12-13, and a broad consensus that nuclear terrorism is a threat to all nations, said Matthew Bunn, associate professor at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and co-principal investigator for the Project on Managing the Atom.

“Nuclear material anywhere is a threat to everyone, everywhere,” Bunn said. “Securing these stocks is a big job, a complicated job, but a do-able job.”

On April 12, the FMWG is hosting the Next Generation Nuclear Security event, a parallel summit of leading nuclear security experts, the nuclear industry, and non-governmental organization from countries participating in the official summit. The event will be webcast live here: http://ow.ly/1u5g9

The link will remain active and lead to edited, archived video following the event.

Journalists planning to cover the Nuclear Security Summit will want to visit the FMWG’s Web site at www.fmwg.org for new background resources, including:

•    A congressional briefing on Funding the Objective of Securing all Vulnerable Nuclear Material in Four Years by Kenneth Luongo
•    A congressional briefing on Securing Nuclear Stockpiles in Four Years by Matthew Bunn
•    An article on Making the Nuclear Security Summit Matter: An Agenda for Action by Kenneth Luongo
•    Nuclear Material Security Policy and Funding Resources by the Partnership for Global Security
•    The FMWG’s letter to Congress regarding adequate nuclear security funding in FY2011
•    The new Fissile Materials Working Group column in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists
•    The FMWG’s three part blog series on Nuclear Security Summit issues on the Partnership for a Secure America’s “Across the Aisle” blog
•    Radioactive Challenge, an original video report by the Stanley Foundation about the challenge of securing fissile materials worldwide.

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	FMWG - Press Fact Sheet.pdf	53.54 KB
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