International terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction remain two of the top threats to UK security.
These threats are addressed through the UK’s National Security Strategy and counter-proliferation and counter-terrorism strategies.
The UK Global Threat Reduction Programme (GTRP) contributes to these and addresses a key objective of the National Security Strategy: to counter the proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.
GTRP also provides the UK’s contribution to the Global Partnership against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, launched by the G8 at the Kananaskis Summit in Canada in 2002.
G8 leaders recognised that the scale of the Soviet Cold War weapons of mass destruction legacy was such that a concerted international effort was needed if the threats to global security posed by this legacy were to be addressed within an acceptable timescale.
Since 2002, many other countries have taken up the invitation to join the Global Partnership, which now involves more than 20 donors. The UK pledged up to $750 million and to date has spent over £340 million.
Over the past nine years, the UK has worked with other donors in Russia and former Soviet Union states on major projects addressing the Global Partnership’s identified priorities.
By providing assistance to countries to help protect and secure access to vulnerable weapons of mass destruction materials and expertise, it reduces the threats these pose, both to the UK and globally.
As projects and programmes have completed successfully, the UK has increasingly widened the geographic scope of its work in order to remain focussed on places where the threats are greatest and where the capacity to deal with them is least developed.
Despite the considerable achievements of the Global Partnership, concerns about proliferation of weapons and materials of mass destruction and the possibility of terrorists acquiring Chemical, Biological, Radiological or Nuclear (CBRN) material or know-how have not diminished.
Furthermore, with energy security and climate change concerns set to drive a renaissance in civil nuclear power, it is of increased importance that the UK maintains a proactive stance in promoting the highest levels of nuclear safety and security and non-proliferation everywhere.