IAEA member states develop roadmap for nuclear security   |25 June 2022

Mr Pauron making his closing address (Photo: Joena Meme)

The week’s regional workshop to develop a roadmap for building a National Security Detection Architecture (NSAA) for Material Out of Regulatory Control (MORC) came to an end yesterday afternoon.

It was organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs and held at the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Hotel.

The objectives of the workshop, facilitated by three IAEA experts, was to sensitise member states – Seychelles, Mauritius, Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo – on the importance of developing a roadmap for a NSAA for MORC in relation to prevention and detection of and response to, theft, sabotage, unauthorised access, illegal transfer or other malicious acts involving nuclear materials, other radioactive substances or their associated facilities.

It was Vice-President Ahmed Afif and IAEA facilitator Maxandre Pauron who presented the participants with their certificates.

During the five-day workshop, the participants learned and discussed the roles and responsibilities of the different stakeholders, evaluated existing national capacity and existing resources and make proposals based on gaps identified. Nuclear security threats may not always originate from our respective shores but also from external sources such as sources and materials that are out of regulatory control such as lost, misplaced or stolen materials.

A participant, Daniel Cetoupe, the principal risk management officer at the Disaster Risk Management Division (DRMD), said that the workshop was a good opportunity for our country to step up its NSAA level taking into account that it has some weaknesses in regard to nuclear security.

He noted that the workshop was a chance for all key partners present to work together to design the road map to address the shortcomings from the legal, strategic, implementation and execution sides.

Seychelles has been a member of the IAEA since 2003 and benefits mostly from technical assistance through established national projects, notably in enhancing capacity building of staff and work equipment which enable the Competent Authority to carry out its daily activities.

The Radiation Safety and Security Act was enacted in 2014 and the Radiation Safety and Security Regulations were approved by the cabinet of ministers in November 2019.

The Competent Authority also issued a guide in 2014 which outlines the roles and responsibilities of the different stakeholders in handling radioactive sources.

In his closing address, Mr Pauron said that the responsibility of nuclear security and notably the use of nuclear and other associated radioactive materials falls entirely on the state and it is a global issue when it is associated with criminal threats.

“This is why we are convinced that international cooperation and exchange of best practices are essential so that each state can be able to put in place and maintain an effective nuclear security,” said Mr Pauron, who noted that the presence of the high level delegation from Seychelles, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mauritius, demonstrate the importance dedicated to nuclear security. 

He stated that while countries can access nuclear technology for pacific purpose, those nuclear and radioactive resources could be stolen or get lost and could end up in the hands of criminals to perform criminal acts.

“So that is why it is important for the countries present to collaborate to develop the roadmap so that those criminal acts can be detected,” said Mr Pauron, who thanked the country for co-hosting the workshop.

For the time being, Seychelles has no plan/system in place to cater for radioactive sources out of regulatory control and participant, Amelie Azemia, relation safety officer at the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs, said that with the gathered knowledge and working closely with local and international partners, they will be working to put in place mechanisms for a NSAA for MORC plan for the country.

Patrick Joubert