“We know that to get the materials they need, terrorists will go where
the material is most vulnerable. Global nuclear security is only as strong
as the weakest link in the chain,” he said.
The index, timed ahead of the March summit on nuclear security in South Korea,
called for the world to set benchmarks and to hold nations accountable for
nuclear safety.
It also urged nations to stop increasing stocks of weapons-usable material and
to make public their security regulations.
North Korea has tested two nuclear bombs and in 2009 renounced a US-backed
agreement on denuclearisation. The world has watched warily since last month
as young Kim Jong-Un takes over as leader from his late father Kim Jong-il.
Pakistan has vigorously defended its right to nuclear weapons. The father of
Pakistan’s atom bomb, Abdul Qadeer Khan, admitted in 2004 that he ran a
nuclear black market selling secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea but
later retracted his remarks.
Australia does not have nuclear weapons and supports their abolition. But it
has a security alliance with the United States and holds the world’s largest
reserves of uranium.
Of acknowledged nuclear weapons states, Britain scored best at 10th among the
32 countries. The United States ranked 13th.
The Nuclear Threat Initiative also released a separate index of security
conditions in countries without significant nuclear materials, saying they
could be used as safe havens or transit points.
Somalia, which is partially under the control of the al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab
movement and has effectively lacked a central government for two decades,
was ranked last among the 144 countries surveyed.
Other countries that ranked near the bottom included Republic of Congo,
Zimbabwe, Eritrea and Chad.
On the top of the list, Finland was ranked as the most secure nation among
those without nuclear material. It was followed by Denmark, Spain, Estonia,
Slovenia and Romania.
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