Efforts to prevent nuclear threats in sub-region

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Feb 12, 2008


THE Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have begun a training programme to equip front-line officers of three African countries with the relevant skills to detect and identify offensive nuclear and radioactive materials.
The move is to help prevent nuclear threats in the sub-region.
Opening a five-day training course for 18 front-line officers from Ghana, Nigeria and Sudan, the National Security Co-ordinator, Dr Sam G. Amoo, said by organising the workshop, the IAEA and GAEC were taking practical steps in contributing to world efforts at halting trafficking of dangerous and offensive weapons.
Through the IAEA, he said, countries were developing nuclear and radiation standards and legally binding conventions relevant to safety and security alongside the development of the benefits of nuclear technology to better the lot of society.
According to him, world peace could not be compromised by any means of human endeavours.
Dr Amoo indicated that the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 1540 of 2004 affirmed that the “proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, as well as their means of delivery, constitutes a threat to international peace and security”.
In line with this, he said, the council had resolved to take appropriate and effective actions against any threat to international peace and security caused by the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their means of delivery.
“The United Nations and the international community are concerned about the threat of terrorism and illicit trafficking in nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and are, therefore, determined to facilitate an effective response to global threats in the area of non-proliferation,” he said.
Dr Amoo said the National Security Council would do everything possible to assist the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission and join the global community in fighting nuclear terrorism.
The Director General of GAEC, Prof. E.H.K. Akaho, said the training programme, which was the second, amply demonstrated the importance the agency placed on the need to halt global nuclear threat.
According to him, there was the urgent need for awareness creation on the issue, adding that it was for that reason that safety and protection rules should not be taken for granted.
As a practical step, he said, GAEC had requested for assistance from the Ministry for National Security to evaluate the physical protection of its facilities.
Prof. Akaho said nuclear threat was a global menace to peace and expressed the hope that the training course would equip the participants with the relevant skills in the use of advanced equipment in detecting offensive materials.
The “Advanced Detection Equipment” training course, which is dedicated to the development of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, is being organised by the Radiation Protection Institute of GAEC and the IAEA.