Posted by: Simon G. Limage, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nonproliferation Programs, U.S. Department of State
Let Us Beat Swords Into Plowshares statue at the United Nations Headquarters, New York City
Outside the United Nations building in New York stands a bronze sculpture of a man beating a sword into a ploughshare. This depiction of man’s desire to end war and transform its terrible implements into tools for peaceful uses was sculpted by Yevgeny Vuchetich, a Soviet artist born in Ukraine. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, Ukraine emerged as a global leader in WMD nonproliferation efforts with great contributions to global peace and security. One prominent example was the evolution and opening of the Science and Technology Center in Ukraine, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The STCU stands today as a real-life example of the symbolism of Vuchetich’s sculpture.
Over the course of the last 20 years, Ukraine was joined by Moldova, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the United States, Sweden, Canada and EURATOM to create an innovative center that would redirect the skills and knowledge of weapons scientists to peaceful applications. To date, the STCU has worked with nearly 21,000 scientists, of which about 12,000 were former weapon scientists from the Soviet era.
For more than 20 years, the STCU’s primary mission has been to promote a safer world by supporting civilian science and technology partnerships that address global security threats and advance nonproliferation. In short, the STCU supports responsible research by scientists and academics from broad backgrounds and multiple disciplines.
Consider some of the STCU’s many achievements:
The STCU’s nearly 20-year partnership with the U.S. National Cancer Institute has allowed researchers to develop methodology from studies of post-Chernobyl radiation fallout. The results were used to protect children from the nuclear power plant disaster in Fukushima, Japan. Results from both studies have been published in highly regarded scientific journals.
The STCU has supported International Space Station cooperation between Ukraine and the United States in research of outer space for peaceful purposes. Such research includes life and microgravity sciences. Many of these projects were conducted on the International Space Station.
STCU scientists continue to engage in environmental assessments, remediation and long-term monitoring of areas impacted by the Fukushima disaster. Researchers have developed methods to reduce the volume of radioactive waste and continue to monitor any radioactive pollution of the forest ecosystems.
Future research will focus on chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosion mitigation to combat terrorists who seek to use weapons of mass destruction for nefarious purposes. The STCU will support projects that improve the security of pathogens that pose proliferation risks; advance safe and responsible conduct in the biological sciences; and develop countermeasures for emerging diseases. The STCU also plans to support improved monitoring of commercial use of radiological material in oil well geological logging operations, as well as and transportation security for nuclear material.
Since 1995, U.S. funding to the STCU has been more than $166 million. For 20 years it has stood as a bulwark in the fight against those trying to develop WMD by harnessing the region’s best scientific minds. Its achievements may not grab major headlines, but its successes cannot be overstated. You can read more about the STCU at www.stcu.int
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