Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism is an international co-operation to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons or radioactive materials into the hands of terrorists and to prevent the terrorists from carrying out attacks on any of the nuclear facilities. It is a co-operation to prevent, detect and respond to nuclear terrorism.

Aspirants would find this topic very helpful in the IAS Exam.

Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism – Background

1. The first meeting of Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism took place in Rabat, Morocco in October 2006 under the leadership of Ambassador Robert Joseph of the United States and Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Kislyak. Read more on Terrorism in detail in the linked page.
2. Only international governmental organizations can serve as official observers of the GICNT.

Which are the 6 Official Observers of GICNT?

GICNT has 89 nations as its members. There are 6 organizations which act as observers of GICNT. The list is given below.

1. United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT)
2. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
3. International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol)
4. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
5. United Nations Inter-regional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI)
6. European Union (E.U.)

GINCT – Purpose

The purpose of the GICNT is to strengthen global capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to nuclear terrorism through multilateral activities that strengthen the plans, policies, procedures, and interoperability of partner nations.

The GICNT is a voluntary initiative aimed at fostering international cooperation in order to prevent terrorists from acquiring, transporting, or using nuclear materials or radioactive substances, to deter hostile actions against nuclear facilities, and to respond to incidents involving the use of radiological or nuclear materials.

GICNT participants work to unite experience and expertise from the nonproliferation, counter-proliferation, and counter-terrorism fields; strengthen global activities and institutions through the integration of collective capabilities and resources, and maintain a network for partners to share information and expertise in a legally non-binding capacity.

Candidates can go through some relevant articles linked below for assistance in their exam preparation-

Where was the Location of the First GICNT Summit?

The First GICNT Summit was held in Rabat, Morocco in the year 2006. 13 nations are founding members of GICNT. The establishment of GICNT was jointly announced by former US President George Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the year 2006. India is also a member of the GICNT.

Where was the GICNT Summit held in 2019?

The last GICNT Summit was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina on June 5-7, 2019. Russia and the USA will be the co-chair for the next four years from 2019-2023. Morocco will be the Implementation and Assessment Group (IAG) co-coordinator for the year 2019-2021. The next GICNT summit will be held in Hungary in the year 2021.

The above details would help candidates prepare for UPSC 2023.

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