From 30 September to 1 October 2024, VERTIC, with the support of the Argentine-based NPSGlobal Foundation hosted a conference bringing together representatives of three emerging nuclear disarmament verification (NDV) research and innovation hubs in Africa, Central Asia and Latin America. The conference formed an important part of our Norway-funded project in support of enhancing global NDV capacity and in particular in non-nuclear-armed States. Highlights included three keynote speakers: Gustavo Zlauvinen, Ambassador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Argentina, President of the Tenth NPT Review Conference; Michiel Combrink, Department of International Relations and Co-operation (DIRCO), South Africa; and, Alfredo Labbé, member of the Chilean National Academy of Political and Strategic Studies.
The conference reviewed current international developments and their impact on efforts to build capacity for nuclear disarmament verification and aimed to foster a collaborative environment to share the three regional Hub’s activities, initiatives and future plans. An open discussion was also held on how we can better organise hub activities in the future. In addition, participants explored whether technical measures to ensure that States are adhering to their non-proliferation obligations (safeguards) are applicable for broader nuclear disarmament verification efforts. Two members of each hub also presented their research that had been commissioned by our regional partners: NPSGlobal Foundation in Argentina, the Radiation & Health Physics Unit, University of Witwatersrand in South Africa and the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC), based in Kazakhstan.
The second day included a visit to the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials (ABACC) Headquarters, where participants had the opportunity to receive an overview of the work of ABACC and visit their laboratory. The group was hosted by ABACC’s Secretary-General, Dr Marco Marzo and Sonia Fernández Moreno, Director of Planning & Evaluation.