The week from march 28 to April 1, 2022 will be held in Vienna Review Conference of the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, as Amended, known by its acronym in Spanish), A/CPPNM. 

The CPPNM is an instrument of international law is very important, because it is the only tool legally binding on the international community to protect the facilities and nuclear materials. 

In a context of extremely high sensitivity due to the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, the Convention was successfully completed, and the parties agree on a final declaration, which reaffirms the global commitment to protect nuclear material. 

One element to keep in mind is that, for the first time, the States parties agreed to the presence of intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations (civil society) as observers in the Conference, which put it in line with other forums and organizations of the United Nations system, that have begun to give space and voice to the civil society. 

In this context, 14 NGOS from around the world were allowed to participate. Of these, there were only 2 of Latin America, among which there are told the Argentinean Foundation Global. 

Our Foundation was represented by the Director of the Nuclear Policy, Julián Gadano, who made a presentation on criminalization of acts of malicious nuclear, emphasizing on the importance of establishing legal frameworks in the Latin american region, which will allow the security forces and judicial officials to have tools with which to act, before any actions are malicious against nuclear facilities and nuclear materials. 

We are very proud that, just two years after its creation, the Foundation Argentina Global has been accepted as an observer of this important forum, next to prestigious organizations such as -among others - the Nuclear Threat Initiative, Kings College London, Parlamentarians for Global Action, The Henri Stimson Center, The Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, and The World Institute for Nuclear Security. Also we are pleased that the other Latin american organization participant is also argentina: our colleagues of NPSGlobal. 

Finally, we want to highlight the mention that the final declaration of the Convention made to the work of our colleague and former member of the Argentinean Foundation Global, Thomas Bieda, as “co-chair” of the preparatory committees of experts, prior to the Conference. Bieda had such a huge responsibility while he was a Director of Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Security department of Nuclear Energy, during the administration of Mauricio Macri. 

We are proud to have been able to contribute to a more secure future, even in the difficult times in which we live today.