LONDON, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- The international community faces a "race against time" to prevent terrorists acquiring nuclear material, the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog has warned.
Mohammed El Baradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said countries must immediately implement safeguards to prevent existing nuclear weapons provisions from falling into the hands of extremist groups.
"If an extremist group were to acquire nuclear or radiological material, they would not think twice about using it," the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize winner said.
Speaking at London-based think tank the International Institute of Strategic Studies Tuesday evening, El Baradei cited some 650 recorded cases of attempts to smuggle nuclear material in the past decade alone.
He called on countries to take immediate steps to criminalize the illicit possession and use of radioactive material, and enhance efforts to detect and combat illicit trafficking.
The IAEA chief also suggested a number of practical steps to prevent proliferation, such as a central fuel bank to ensure a reliable supply of energy for non-nuclear states, and assured supply schemes operated by countries such as the United States.
He highlighted the role of the United Nations' Security Council in curbing proliferation, but argued that it needed to be more consistent and preventative rather than reactionary for its credibility to be strengthened.
The disarmament of existing nuclear weapons states was also "crucial," he said. Urging nuclear powers to "lead by example," El Baradei said progress in recent years had been "very slow," with 27,000 warheads still in existence and more than 30 countries as members of alliances that relied on nuclear deterrence.
"This naturally is creating an environment of cynicism among the non-nuclear-weapons states," he said.
Describing current state of world security as "poor," El Baradei called for an alternative approach to collective security based on sustainable development for all, economic and sociopolitical deterrence and preventative engagement.
"There is both an urgent need and an opportunity to move from a security system based on mutual assured destruction to one based on mutual assured security," he concluded.
