WiN for Peace

The WiN Global group of expertise WiN for Peace was inaugurated on 27 February 2023, with the support of the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-proliferation (VCDNP) and the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs Vienna (UNODA) in Vienna. 

The first use of nuclear energy showed that the energy released when splitting heavy nuclei may be used for both non-peaceful and peaceful purposes. The military use of nuclear weapons in Japan in August 1945 resulted in a rush towards the development of the non-peaceful use of nuclear energy and by the early 1960s five States had developed nuclear weapons. The Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), put up for signature in 1968, aimed at curbing these developments, requiring Non-nuclear Weapon States never to acquire nuclear weapons and the five Nuclear Weapon States recognized under the Treaty not to proliferate nuclear weapons and to disarm. The NPT further established the inalienable right of all NPT State Parties to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The NPT is the basis for nuclear export controls and for the establishment of an international safeguards system implemented by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) through its inspectorate.

Mission

Nuclear non-proliferation, safeguards, export controls, and disarmament form the basis of the mission of WiN for Peace. The group aims to promote activities, training and collaboration in these subject areas, with the objective of increasing the number of female professionals, thereby ultimately contributing towards world peace.

Activities

  • Promoting the exclusively peaceful use of nuclear energy.
  • Conducting regular meetings to discuss current topics related to nuclear safeguards, non-proliferation, export controls, and disarmament. 
  • Cooperating with individuals and organizations involved in these subject areas through such means as partnership agreements and memoranda of understanding. Potential counterparts could be the IAEA, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-proliferation (VCDNP), the Institute for Nuclear Materials Management (INMM), Atomic Reporters, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), and others.
  • Conducting educational and training sessions for WiN Global members in the subject areas in order to increase their understanding of the non-peaceful uses of nuclear energy and the framework to prevent such misuse.
  • Holding events to promote women’s interest in and understanding of the subject areas, with a special focus on young women in nuclear professions.
  • Holding events in different formats (physical, hybrid or virtual) on current topics related to the subject areas. 
  • Sharing WiN for Peace expertise at conferences, panel sessions and other events.

 

 

Leadership

Eva Gyane -

Eva holds an MBA in Trade Sciences, a BSc in Physics and Chemistry and a MSc in Nuclear Science and Technology. She worked at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for 35 years in different positions, 20 years thereof in the Department of Safeguards as an Information Analyst and Nuclear Safeguards Inspector. She spent six years in the United Arab Emirates, working as a Senior Nuclear Export Control Specialist at the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation.