Statement by the Head of the Australian delegation, Ambassador David Stuart, Governor and Permanent Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, to the 56 th Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference September 2012 My delegation congratulates you on your election. We have every confidence that, under your leadership, the Conference will be given every opportunity to reach successful outcomes on all its agenda items. At this time last year our thoughts were with Japan and its people following the terrible natural disaster of March 2011, and the resulting accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. This year, our General Conference provides us with an opportunity to take stock of the progress the international community has since made to enhance nuclear safety. The Director General s report Progress in the Implementation of the IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety clearly demonstrates that substantial efforts are being made nationally and internationally in this regard. Australia welcomes the positive outcomes of the Extraordinary Review Conference on the Convention on Nuclear Safety. Contracting Parties at the meeting were able to agree amendments to the rules and guidelines that will strengthen nuclear safety through more comprehensive national reporting and robust peer review processes. Australia looks forward to participating in the efficiency and transparency working group. We encourage the IAEA to strengthen its suite of peer review services. To be effective, such services need to critically review the implementation of the Safety Standards by the host Member State. The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency hosted a full-scope Integrated Regulatory Review Service mission in 2007 and a followup mission in 2011. As the incoming chair of UNSCEAR, Australian experts will help to assess the radiological consequences of the Fukushima accident and would work closely with the Agency in this regard. All member states of the agency must work to ensure an effective safeguards system which provides assurances of the correctness and completeness of a State s declarations
concerning the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities a system that we can all continue to have confidence in. Such a system provides the basic foundation for nuclear trade and cooperation, security and continuing progress on nuclear disarmament. To be effective, a safeguards system must have universal coverage. We continue to call upon all those NPT states which have yet to fulfil their obligations under the Treaty to conclude Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements to do so without delay. Compliance with safeguards on all peaceful nuclear activities is an essential step in building confidence towards a world free of nuclear weapons. We will continue to work with the Agency in using regional and bilateral opportunities to encourage all countries to implement effective safeguards, including as Chair of the Asia- Pacific Safeguards Network, which will hold its next plenary meeting on 29-31 October 2012. We appreciated the support of NPT States Parties in ensuring that this year s meeting of the Preparatory Committee to the 2015 NPT Review Conference, under the chairmanship of Australian Ambassador Peter Woolcott, set the new review cycle on the right path. The meeting effectively consolidated the 2010 Action Plan as the basis for moving forward on the NPT's implementation. The Australian Safeguards Support Program (ASSP) has been in place since 1980 as one way we can support the Agency in developing safeguards techniques and approaches. The Program has contributed to areas such as: analytical services for environmental sampling; remote monitoring; training; and analytical and concepts work. In this regard, the University of Western Australia has now qualified its large-geometry secondary ion mass spectrometer (LG-SIMS) to become a member of the Agency s Network of Analytical Laboratories (NWAL). The major technical challenge faced by the safeguards system is the need to ensure credible verification to provide confidence that safeguards are effective to detect both misuse of declared facilities and the existence of undeclared facilities. The Additional Protocol is an essential component in ensuring the maximum effectiveness of that system. Australia strongly encourages those states yet to sign, ratify and implement an Additional Protocol to do so as soon as possible. It is a matter of continuing regret that a very small minority of states remain in breach of their safeguards obligations.
My government again urges Iran to comply with UN Security Council resolutions and engage with the Agency in order to demonstrate conclusively the peaceful intent of its nuclear program. The Director-General s latest report on Iran details further enrichment and heavy water-related work and Iran s refusal to provide access to the Parchin site. We share concerns about the mounting evidence of the possible military dimensions of Iran s nuclear program, including those detailed in the report of the Director General last November. It was therefore appropriate that the Board of Governors, by an overwhelming majority, passed a further resolution on Iran at its meeting last week. We welcome the Director General s proactive efforts, including visiting Tehran, to reach an agreement with Iran aimed at resolving outstanding issues. However, despite the IAEA s best efforts and Iran s assurance that there were no obstacles that would prevent an agreement, Iran has so far failed to sign an agreement. Despite indications of progress in negotiations early this year, North Korea continues to be in non-compliance with its safeguards obligations and to act in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions. My government is particularly concerned by the DPRK s uranium enrichment activities and its construction of a light water reactor, and continues to urge the DPRK to abandon its nuclear weapons and its nuclear programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner, and to comply with its NPT and IAEA safeguards obligations. We support the Agency in continuing to maintain its readiness to play an essential role in verifying the DPRK s nuclear program. We continue to urge Syria to act as soon as possible to implement the Resolution adopted by the Board in June 2011 and to follow up on its offer of cooperation with the Agency in order to resolve all outstanding safeguards issues. Australia has long supported the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. The Director General s initiative to convene the IAEA Middle East Forum last November showed that constructive and purposeful discussion could be held on this complex issue. All participants in the Forum benefited from the experience of experts from all five of the nuclear weapons-free zones. The Forum was undoubtedly a positive step towards the broader goal of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons. At this critical time we encourage all states to avoid any actions that might disrupt progress towards this. Australia continues to work closely with the Agency and our regional neighbours with regard to nuclear safety and security. We look forward to hosting an International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) mission in 2013, and a regional IPPAS workshop in November this year.
As a major uranium producer and exporter holding some 30-40% of the world s uranium resources, we are committed to the safe and environmentally sound mining, processing and transport of uranium, and proudly carry a strong record in these areas. Australia has sought to strengthen informed discussion between the Vienna missions of existing and prospective uranium mining countries and we are pleased to again be able to host a uranium side-event during the General Conference, on this occasion titled Towards best Practice in the Uranium Cycle Continuous Improvement and Newcomer Preparedness in Mining. Over the past nine years, the Regional Radiological Security Partnership for South-East Asia (RRSP) bringing together the IAEA, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), the US Global Threat Reduction Initiative and our regional partners in South-East Asia and the Pacific - has strengthened the security of radioactive sources in the region. The Third Regional Review Meeting of the Radiological Security Partnerships on Radioactive Source Security, held in the Philippines in January 2012, reaffirmed the importance of a cooperative approach within our region and with the IAEA. Australia will continue to support international efforts in the development of nuclear forensic libraries, common lexicon and training, including through the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism and the International Technical Working Group. ANSTO has developed new technologies that will enable customs authorities to swiftly and accurately identify radioactive material in transit, thereby enhancing their ability to detect the presence of illicitly trafficked nuclear material. Australia will also continue to support international efforts to provide safe, timely and reliable transport of radioactive materials, which are essential to industry and to medical, scientific and industrial applications. Australia, through ANSTO, is continuing to significantly expand production of molybdenum 99 though our fully LEU-based production facilities and process, and the Australian Government has recently committed funding for the construction and commissioning of a large-scale molybdenum-99 processing plant which will be able to supply a large part of global demand following the closure of current production reactors in coming years. In doing so, Australia, and likeminded countries, continues to advance global nuclear non-proliferation efforts though minimising the civilian use of HEU. ANSTO is also proceeding with a pilot plant for its specialised waste-form technology, Synroc, which provides a unique solution to encapsulate, store and reduce volume. In relation to nuclear applications, Australia restates the right of IAEA members to enjoy the benefits of peaceful uses of nuclear energy in accordance with their international
obligations. Through ANSTO, Australia shares its skilled scientific research base with other member states, and facilitates the use and exchange of equipment and personnel in fields relevant to the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology. In this regard, we note that ANSTO continues to have its state-of-the-art neutron beam facilities at the OPAL reactor designated as an IAEA Collaborating Centre for Neutron Scattering Applications; a facility from which Member States in our region benefit. In particular, ANSTO was able to make its facilities available to Japanese neutron beam researchers following the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011. Australia is among the leading contributors to the Agency s Technical Cooperation Fund, providing substantial contributions to the Agency s efforts to share the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Regionally, Australia recognises the importance of the Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology for the Asia and the Pacific (RCA), an agreement which is in its 40 th year. We remain strongly committed to the continued success of this Agreement, including through significant extra-budgetary contributions on projects covering radiation protection and health care. Under this agreement, the Marine Benchmark Study on the Possible Impact of the Fukushima Radioactive Releases in the Asia Pacific Region, with significant funding by Australia, had its initial project meeting in Sydney last year and its first review meeting in Vietnam last month. The project has already enhanced the ability of participating states to measure radioactivity in the marine environment. We take this opportunity to welcome the new members of the Agency: the Republic of Fiji; the Republic of San Marino; and Trinidad and Tobago. We extend a particular welcome to another representative in the Agency from the South Pacific. Fiji s membership will extend further opportunities for close cooperation between the Agency and Pacific states. This Conference continues to be a valuable annual opportunity to take stock of the work of the Agency and to evaluate its contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security. The Agency continues to face many challenges but my delegation remains confident that it has the leadership, capacity and the resilience to meet the objectives outlined in the Statute and to contribute to a better world. Thank you.