Persconferentie Rutte voorafgaand aan de Nuclear Security Summit 2014

Toespraak | 23-03-2014

Welcome to The Hague and the Nuclear Security Summit. We're proud to be the organisers of this Summit, it is the largest conference ever held in NL. A summit devoted to an important topic. The issues we'll be addressing over the next few days impact on the security of all the people of the world. The chance that nuclear or radioactive material could fall into the hands of terrorists is small, fortunately. But if it were to happen, the consequences could be enormous. We need to do everything we can to prevent nuclear terrorism. We have gathered here with that clear aim.

Nuclear material has many good uses. It can generate energy, and in hospitals, medical isotopes help fight cancer. But if it fell into the wrong hands, nuclear material could also be used to make a nuclear weapon. And malicious people could use radioactive material to make a dirty bomb, causing massive social disruption. President Obama put this issue on the global agenda in 2009. I endorse his view that nuclear terrorism is one of the greatest threats to international security. All the more so since there are relatively few binding international agreements in this area. We have universally binding agreements on medication, food safety and aviation security, to name only three areas. When it comes to nuclear security, we can definitely do better.

So what are the goals of this Summit? We seek to reduce the chance that nuclear or radioactive material could fall into the hands of terrorists, in various ways:

• One, limiting the amount of hazardous nuclear material in the world;
• Second better securing the material that remains;
• And thirdly stepping up international cooperation in this area.

A great deal has already happened, thanks to the previous Summits in Washington and Seoul. But we have to be honest: it's not nearly enough. In 2013, 146 incidents involving nuclear and radioactive material were reported to the IAEA. Most of these related to material that had temporarily gone missing, but the possibility of a serious incident continues to hang over us.

My ambition as chair of this NSS is to raise the bar even higher and boost the security of our people even more. The groundwork for this has already been laid by negotiating teams of the participating countries. To use a football metaphor, the ball is already on the penalty spot. But now it's up to the leaders to kick it into the goal. This is what we're here to do over the next few days.

We've worked hard to put together an innovative programme for this summit. Countries will still issue national statements, but a number of them will present their standpoints in the form of video statements. There will also be an informal session, for the heads of delegation only, where we'll talk about the future of the NSS process. We will also have an interactive policy discussion about the national and international response to an incident involving nuclear terrorism. And finally, on Tuesday you will read the final communiqué of this paperless summit with the help of the NSS app on your tablet or smartphone.

Big international conferences like the NSS are often a good opportunity to discuss current affairs in the margins. Ukraine is one of these current issues right now. And several leaders will take advantage of their presence here to talk about pressing issues outside the direct scope of the NSS.

I conclude. Enhancing nuclear security is a complicated process. But kilo by kilo, we're reducing the amount of nuclear material, and step by step, we're improving security measures. Here, against the fitting backdrop of The Hague, the city of peace and justice, we will move forward, making the world a bit safer.

Thank you.