The Nuclear Security Governance Experts Group (NSGEG) was a unique and effective multi-sector coalition of experts with broad expertise and knowledge of various nuclear security challenges that have developed more than 50 recommendations for improving nuclear security. The group provided realistic solutions to address weaknesses and gaps in the global nuclear security system and was largely responsible for expanding the Nuclear Security Summits' (NSS) scope to embrace nuclear governance as a core issue. The NSGEG Group was dissolved in late 2016, but the recommendations of the project and continuing work on them have been transferred to the INSG.
The NSGEG, created in 2012 and originally led by PGS, the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, and the Stanley Foundation, first convened at the dawn of the 2012 NSS in Seoul, South Korea. The group's primary goal was to make the current nuclear material security regime more cohesive, responsive, and robust by 2020.
From 2012-2016, the NSGEG conducted multiple meetings and workshops that focused on generating and developing a set of innovative policy ideas for improved global nuclear security by building a stronger, more unified global regime for protecting fissile materials, high-intensity radioactive sources, and key nuclear facilities. It also engaged actively with the Centers of Excellence of Japan and South Korea, government officials and NSS Sherpas, and the nuclear industry.
The NSGEG was instrumental in the creation of the NSS Nuclear Security Implementation Initiative, a primary result of the 2014 NSS in the Netherlands, which subsequently was turned into an International Atomic Energy Agency Information Circular (INFCIRC) 869. To this date, there are 38 national signatories to the INFCIRC/869, including China, India, and Jordan.
In 2015, the NSGEG also proposed and published the first-ever International Convention on Nuclear Security, aimed at strengthening and unifying the current disparate structure of the nuclear security regime. Support for the proposed international legal mechanism was emphasized in national statements by Austria, Chile, and Denmark.
Other NSGEG recommendations include: developing a practical step-by-step process to eliminate and prevent weak links in the nuclear security regime, encouraging greater transparency, promoting the full implementation of existing nuclear security elements, and improving international confidence-building measures.
The NSGEG also supported the creation of and endorses the 5 Priorities for Global Nuclear Security to ensure that the global nuclear security regime is effective, sustainable and continuously improving.
For more information and a full list of NSGEG Policy Recommendations, please visit the official NSGEG website.