CNS News & Views: May 2021

Middlebury Institute of International Studies

May 2021

35th Anniversary of the Chernobyl Disaster

This year marked the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, known as the worst nuclear accident in the history of mankind. CNS commemorated a week of remembrance activities with an article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and two webinars that featured Ukrainian experts, CNS visiting fellows, and students. Webinars focused on the present-day Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, highlighted the history of the Chernobyl disaster, and discussed issues that Ukraine is still contending with today.

In her publication in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists “It is not radioactive Disneyland: Visit Chernobyl but respect it,” CNS’s Margarita Kalinina-Pohl shared her personal experience of visiting the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and reflected on its increasing popularity as a ‘dark tourism’ destination. She suggests treating the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone as an open-air museum to help preserve it for future generations and to educate visitors about its history and legacy.

VCDNP Visiting U.S. Scholar and Practitioner Fellowship

The VCDNP invites applications for its new Visiting Scholar and Practitioner Fellowship for U.S. citizens. The Fellowship offers academics, researchers, and practitioners an opportunity to engage with the community of experts and government representatives from diplomatic missions, national governments, international governmental organizations, academic institutions and think tanks in Vienna and Europe through several flagship programs at the VCDNP. Programs and opportunities include training courses on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament, dialogue meetings, focused workshops, seminar series, and research projects.

The Fellowship is open to junior/mid-career professionals as well as senior scholars and practitioners. The duration of the fellowship is two to five months.

Apply here

Youth for Nuclear Disarmament

On April 17, 2021, over 100 high school students from Russia, Japan, and the United States joined the online Critical Issues Forum (CIF) Spring Student Conference. Each of the thirteen participating schools completed a final project associated with this year’s theme, “Toward a World Free of Nuclear Weapons: The Role of Youth in an Age of Global Crisis.” This year’s CIF program was a great testament to its participants, who overcame the challenges of a global pandemic to dedicate their time and creativity to the program, further illustrating that youth participation is critical to addressing global threats.

The conference featured remarks from the CIF Project Manager Ms. Masako Toki, United Nations Undersecretary General and High Representative for Disarmament Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu, and a keynote speech from former Governor of California Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr.

Watch the conference

How to Make Sure Neutrons Save Lives Instead of End Them

Fifty-three countries operate some 224 research reactors, with nine new plants under construction. Ten such facilities supply more than 95 percent of one of the world’s leading medical isotopes, and many of those, including the high-performance reactors in the United States, have operated for nearly half a century, if not more.

Senior Fellow Miles Pomper, alongside Julia Phillips and William Tobey, authored an article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists that discusses how the use of neutrons in medical, scientific, and industrial fields around the world creates a necessity for international planning and coordination of neutron needs. The issue is complicated by today’s use of highly enriched uranium, as it incurs risks that the material will be diverted or stolen for use in nuclear weapons.

Read the article

Steps Forward for the Year of Peace and Trust

The government of Turkmenistan and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) organized a virtual conference on April 27, 2021 titled “Ensuring peace, stability and security: Strengthening international and regional cooperation in the field of disarmament.” VCDNP Executive Director Elena Sokova spoke during the conference, alongside leaders of international organizations and Vienna-based ambassadors.

After presenting observations on the existing challenges to nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament, Ms. Sokova offered steps forward to restoring peace and trust. Ms. Sokova argued that the seeds of constructive dialogue, patience, and empathy need to be nurtured, that we need to re-learn how to conduct constructive dialogue, and that multilateralism will be critical to addressing today’s challenges.