On 12-14 October, 2021, the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network co-hosted an online workshop series together with the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and Pacific Forum on the Amended Convention for the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (A/CPPNM).

During the three-day online workshop, participants provided perspectives from across the region on the prevailing situation, implementation and best practices. They also discussed regional cooperation on nuclear security, shared country perspectives, and discussed challenges and ways to prepare for the upcoming Review Conference (RevCon) in 2022.

H.E. Michael Tene, Deputy Secretary-General (DSG) of ASEAN for Political-Security Community gave opening remarks at the first session, speaking to the important role of ASEAN in maintaining cooperation on nuclear security in the region. This was followed by a presentation by Ms. Jessica Bufford, Program Officer at NTI, who gave a presentation on the role of the A/CPPNM in promoting nuclear security, and expectations for the RevCon.

This was followed by a participant discussion on the prevailing situation in the region, where participants discussed changes in the nuclear security regime since the Amendment was passed in 2005.

The second day of the workshop was moderated by APLN Senior Research Adviser Dr. Tanya Ogilvie-White, and featured a presentation on implementation challenges and best practices by Dr. Margarita Kalinina-Pohl, Senior Program Manager at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. This presentation was followed by a round of shorter presentations from participants across the region, who spoke to specific implementation challenges in their respective countries.

The third day of the workshop focused on the RevCon itself, and featured a presentation on the subject by Mr. Benno Laggner, Co-President of the Conference of the Parties to A/CPPNM. During the discussion, participants discussed best practices for preparation work leading up to the RevCon, as well as their expectations on the outcome of the RevCon.

The Review Conference for the Amended Convention for the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials is planned to take place from 28 March to 1 April 2022.