Group of 77 and China Statement for the IAEA March Board, starting on 4 March 2019 delivered by H.E. Ambassador Omar Amer Youssef, Permanent Representative of Egypt
Agenda item 2: Strengthening the Agency’s activities related to nuclear, radiation, transport and waste safety (a) Nuclear Safety Review 2019
Madam Chair,
1. The Group expresses its gratitude to the Secretariat for preparing the Nuclear Safety Review 2018, as contained in document GOV/2019/3. The Group thanks the Director General for his introductory statement, as well as Deputy Director General Juan Carlos Lentijo for his remarks and for the technical briefing offered to Member States on 11 February 2019. [not to be read]
2. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China under this agenda item.
Madam Chair,
3. The Group is pleased to note that the majority of Member States continued to make progress in improving nuclear safety in 2018.
4. While the Group recognizes that the responsibility for nuclear safety rests with each Member State, it believes that the Agency has a central role in coordinating international efforts and in providing expertise and advice to promote and strengthen nuclear safety globally. In this regard, the Group welcomes the assistance provided by the Agency to its Member States in that field, upon request.
5. The Group recalls the adoption, in February 2015, of the "Vienna Declaration on Nuclear Safety", which aims to strengthen nuclear safety worldwide through agreed principles to guide the Contracting Parties, as appropriate, in the implementation of the objective of the Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS) to prevent accidents with radiological consequences and mitigate such consequences should they occur. In this regard, the Agency should continue to assist Member States, upon request, in the implementation of the principles of the Vienna Declaration.
6. The Group recognizes the Agency’s important role in developing Safety Standards and welcomes the issuance of seven General Safety Guides and five Specific Safety Guides in 2018. In this regard, the Group encourages the Agency to continue supporting the participation of experts from developing countries in the Safety Standards Committees and the Nuclear Security Guidance Committee, as well as the Interface Group.
7. The Group takes note that the report covers trends and priorities for all the nuclear safety related topics. In this regard, the Group would like the Secretariat to clarify their methodology in identifying the trends and determining the priorities in future Nuclear Safety Reviews.
8. The Group expresses its appreciation for the ongoing work on the development of guidance on the management of radionuclides in food and drinking water in non-emergency situations and encourages the Agency to share the results with Member States.
9. The Group recognizes the importance of and appreciates the assistance provided by the Agency to its Member States, upon request, in strengthening their national nuclear safety architecture, for both power and non-power application including regulatory infrastructure for nuclear, radiation, transport and waste safety, and in the field of emergency preparedness and response.
10. Recognizing that around 30 Member States, many of which are members of the Group, are at different stages of initiating new nuclear power programmes, the Group encourages the Agency to increase support to such embarking Member States.
11. The Group wishes to emphasize that the development of human resources and up-scaling knowledge and capabilities are key to the establishment, safety and sustainability of any nuclear program. Therefore, it is essential that the IAEA continue to provide such assistance, upon request, to developing countries in building their expertise in the relevant technical areas.
12. In view of the increasing interest of Member States in small and medium sized or modular reactors (SMRs), the Group notes the conclusion of a study by the Agency on the application of the current design-related safety requirements to SMRs intended for near term deployment. The Group further urges the Agency to engage with Member States and keep them informed on the development of publications that use and expand on the results of the study.
13. In view of the increasing use of radioactive material in Member States, the Group notes that there is a growing need for assistance in strengthening regulatory oversight, education and training programmes, guidance documents, peer reviews and advisory services from the Agency for the entire lifecycle management. The Group encourages the Agency to continue to provide the requisite assistance, upon request, to Member States in these important areas.
14. The Group appreciates that in 2018 the Agency conducted 63 peer review and advisory services across all safety areas including safety of nuclear installations, research reactors, fuel cycle facilities as well as regulatory effectiveness, infrastructure development programmes, and ageing management, among others. The Group also encourages the Agency to enhance the participation of experts from the developing countries in conducting such peer reviews and advisory services. The Group also welcomes the regular organization by the Agency of national, regional, and international workshops and training courses for Member States on all relevant issues.
15. The Group highlights the importance it attaches to the development of a safety culture. In this regard, the Group notes that an increasing number of Member States are requesting assistance in further developing their leadership and management programmes for safety and continuous improvement, including safety culture assessments and that the Agency will assist Member States in their efforts to develop, foster and sustain safety culture.
16. On the Radiation Protection of Patients, Workers and the Public, the Group notes that the Agency will assist Member States in their efforts to justify the medical exposure of patients through the use of clinical guidelines and to optimize the radiation protection of patients as well as occupational protection and health workers from the use of radiation in medicine. The Group urges the Agency to continue to assist Member States in strengthening their processes for communicating of radiation risk to the public in planned and existing exposure situations and during an emergency.
Madam Chair,
17. The Group notes that Member States have shown a greater interest in, and made increased use of, the Global Nuclear Safety and Security Network. The Group reiterates that knowledge networks should always remain a core component of the nuclear safety capacity building initiatives with the support of the Agency. The Group appreciates the Agency’s continued support to regional networks, which include the Arab Network of Nuclear Regulators, the Asian Nuclear Safety Network, the Forum of Nuclear Regulatory Bodies in Africa, and the Ibero-American Forum of Radiological and Nuclear Regulatory Agencies, as well as to thematic networks such as the Small Modular Reactor Regulator’s Forum.
Madam Chair,
18. The Group is of the view that strengthening nuclear safety depends on the full cooperation and participation among Member States and relevant stakeholders. Vendors of nuclear technologies also have a responsibility to ensure that users have access to all information and resources necessary for safe operation.
19. The Group expresses its support for the Agency’s work in continuing to build upon the 2011 Action Plan and Member States’ experience in its implementation, as well as the IAEA Report on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, and the principles in the Vienna Declaration and take them into consideration for defining its nuclear safety strategy and programme of work. The Group requests the Secretariat to report periodically to the Board of Governors, in accordance with section 1 of Resolution GC (62)/RES/6.
20. The Group welcomes the release of the updated versions of the Agency’s Unified System for Information Exchange in Incidents and Emergencies (USIE) and the Emergency Preparedness and Response Information System (EPRIMS) with enhanced features as well as their increased usage. Despite the meaningful work done by the Agency in the field of emergency preparedness and response, the Group notes that many challenges remain. It, therefore, encourages continued cooperation and coordination between the Secretariat and interested Member States to overcome these challenges.
Madam Chair,
21. With these remarks, the Group takes note of the Nuclear Safety Review 2019, as contained in document GOV/20189/3.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Agenda item 3: Strengthening the Agency’s activities related to nuclear science, technology and applications: Nuclear Technology Review 2019
Madam Chair,
1. The Group of 77 and China would like to express its appreciation to the Secretariat for preparing the Nuclear Technology Review 2019, contained in document GOV/2019/4. The Group also wishes to thank DDG Mrs. Najat Mokhtar and DDG Mr. Mikhail Chudakov for introducing this agenda item and for the technical briefing provided to delegations on 11th February 2019. [not to be read]
Madam Chair,
2. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China under this agenda item.
3. The year 2018 witnessed many developments in these areas. In this regard, the Group would like to make the following comments:
4. The Group attaches great importance to the significant contributions that nuclear technologies can make towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals their role in food security and safety; nutrition and human health, including disease prevention and control; animal health and production; environmental protection; water resource management; as well as in the use of radioisotopes and radiation. These are the areas where nuclear and isotopic techniques are beneficial in supporting sustainable socio-economic development in many countries.
5. The Group reaffirms that the Agency, in accordance with Article II of the Statute, has a leading role to play in the promotion of these techniques among interested Member States, and encourages it to continue to provide its valuable support, including further promoting active roles of developing countries in contributing towards the development of equipment and techniques that can meet the needs of many Member States. The Group encourages the Secretariat to, in future reports, update Member States on the trends in the development of Nuclear Applications and their role in socio-economic development.
6. The work done by the Agency in nuclear power and nuclear applications highlights the need to increase the transfer of nuclear technology and the sharing of nuclear knowledge, expertise and lessons learned to developing countries, including newcomer countries, to enhance their capabilities and thus contribute to maximize the benefit of peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The Group urges the Agency to continue to provide training and education, to support national laboratories and to further enhance coordinated research activities. The Group also welcomes the contributions made by Member States to various Agency projects, and encourages all Member States in a position to do so, to continue providing such support through the Agency.
7. The Group notes the findings of the Agency and other relevant international organizations that highlights the need for increased use of nuclear power to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and notes that the advantages of nuclear power in climate change mitigation, as well as energy security and non-climatic environmental and socio-economic benefits, are important reasons why many countries, particularly developing countries, intend to introduce nuclear power in the coming decades, or to expand existing programmes. In this context, the Group requests the Secretariat to provide further detailed data regarding the nuclear power contribution in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in its future NTRs and encourages the Agency to enhance its support to developing countries.
8. The Group takes note of the Agency’s participation at last year COP 24 in Katowice which highlighted the potential role of low carbon energy in meeting global climate and energy challenges. The Group looks forward to the IAEA’s International Conference on Climate change and the role of Nuclear power to be held in Vienna in October 2019.
9. The Group welcomes the convening of the International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Science and Technology, co-chaired by Costa Rica and Japan, in November 2018 and its Ministerial Declaration. The Group notes with satisfaction that the conference attracted the highest ever-ministerial level participation which underscores the importance Member States attach to the Agency’s work in promoting nuclear science and technology and its applications and their delivery through technical cooperation programme. In this regard, the Group reiterates its position that the Agency should organize a follow up International Ministerial Conference on this subject in 2022.
10. The Group urges the Agency to continue to assist interested Member States to analyze energy options and to support their capabilities to introduce nuclear power, while maintaining its leading role in the promotion of the transfer and development of technology and knowledge related to peaceful nuclear applications, including nuclear power and the nuclear fuel cycle. The Agency’s Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) missions and related missions provide a useful service in extending this type of cooperation to Member States as shown by the 5 missions conducted in 2018, and encourages the Agency to utilize experts from developing countries.
11. The Group reiterates its expression of interest in the work of various technical working groups under the auspices of the Agency in the development of nuclear technology and in the dissemination of knowledge to Member States, inter alia, through Coordinated Research Projects and requests the Secretariat to continue its support.
12. With regard to the IAEA LEU Bank, the Group reiterates that any arrangement for assurance of supply shall be in full accordance with the IAEA Statute and take into account the respective legal obligations of Member States, as well as the principle of non-discrimination, whereby the inalienable right of Member States to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including national nuclear fuel cycles, is duly respected.
Madam Chair,
13. Accelerators and research reactors continue to play an important role in building strong basic capabilities in the nuclear field, and in supporting related education, training and research activities in Member States. The Group appreciates the support provided by the Secretariat in its coordination of projects supporting research, hands-on training and experimental work in the field of accelerators, and encourages it to continue to provide such support, especially by making use of built-in capacity in many developing countries. The Group takes note that the Agency’s first two INIR-RR peer review missions aimed at providing support and guidance to Member States were held in 2018.
14. The Group highlights the importance of research reactors to interested Member States and their utilization for research and various applications, including education, training, research and isotope production, and calls for enhanced international cooperation to maximize their efficient use while noting that the efforts in this direction continue to grow. The Group urges the Agency to assist interested Member States in addressing issues related to ageing management and underutilization of research reactors, and to assist interested Member States building or planning to build new ones.
15. The Group welcomes the continued international collaboration, supported by the IAEA, to promote and enhance the utilization of research reactors for nuclear capacity building, including education and training, among other areas. The Group encourages the Agency to continue its work of facilitation of regional networks and coalitions to help foster international cooperation and enable research reactors to expand their stakeholder and user communities.
16. The Group notes that the brief outages at some global molybdenum-99 target irradiation facilities in 2018 resulted in regional supply shortages. In this regard, the Group reiterates its request to the Secretariat to remain vigilant on this important issue, with a view to ensuring the sustainability of radioisotope supplies, including through the enhancement of the utilization of existing reactors in developing countries.
17. The Group notes that producers are undertaking efforts to address shortage issues and looks forward to the Agency sharing the outcomes of the Workshops on Supply of Actinium 225 held on 9th and 10th October 2018.
Madam Chair,
18. The Group notes that the report is not addressing Agency’s contribution in developing or utilizing Nuclear Techniques in the area of water resources management and requests the Secretariat to include relevant developments in future Nuclear Technology Review Reports given the vital importance of this area.
19. The Group attaches great value to the role of the Agency’s Nuclear Applications laboratories at Seibersdorf, which have assisted Member States in enhancing their access to the peaceful uses of nuclear technologies since 1962. The Group calls on all Member States, in a position to do so, to provide the appropriate support for renovation and upgrading of the Seibersdorf Laboratories through the ReNuAL and ReNuAL Plus projects.
Madam Chair,
20. The Group values the Agency's assistance to Member States, especially to developing countries, in the field of medical applications. The Group is appreciative of the Agency’s contribution to improving the overall cancer management worldwide, including, the diagnosis, treatment and control of cancer through, inter alia, the development and application of nuclear techniques. The Group notes that these nuclear techniques play an important role in fighting the global cancer epidemic. The Group would also like to highlight and appreciate the Agency support in delivering the imPACT (integrated mission of PACT) Review service to Member States, including through provision of assistance in developing bankable documents.
21. In this regard, the Group takes note of the Director General’s Report on the Agency-wide support to cancer control, GOV/INF/2019/2 and the recent briefing for Member States. The Group underlines the importance of communication as a key to enhance the understanding of Member States on the work of the Agency. Through communication, it is envisaged that all relevant stakeholders can work together hand in hand in addressing any concerns raised by Member States, in particular, regarding the 2017 OIOS findings and recommendations. The Group notes the attendance of all relevant stakeholders during the briefing and requests the Secretariat to continue to update Member States in a similar manner. The Group notes that DGOC is playing a coordinating role on PACT within the Agency; and while we would appreciate updates on this important subject, the Group urges that PACT should continue to be in a position to meet the needs of Member States.
22. In this regard, the Group welcomes the commemoration of the World Cancer Day (Boosting Capacity for Cancer Care) which highlighted the IAEA’s integrated approach to providing Member States with know-how and support for a comprehensive approach to cancer management and explored the latest technological advances in nuclear and radiation medicine to diagnose and treat cancer. We also look forward to the Scientific Forum at this year’s GC on “10 years of Cancer Treatment and beyond – the IAEA’s role and Achievements in Cancer Care over the last 10 years and looking to the Future”. The Group urges the Agency to continue its instrumental role in pursuing and publicizing further research and development in this area.
Madam Chair,
23. On Food & Agriculture, the Group notes that the Agency in collaboration with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has developed DSS4NAFA, a comprehensive cloud-based tool to guide Agency and FAO Member States in their response during a nuclear emergency affecting food and agriculture. In this regard, the Group is looking forward to the results of the local test of the Beta Version and its testing in other sites including developing countries.
24. The Group also notes with interest that current developments in research on the irradiation of pathogens are demonstrating the potential to produce new vaccines against many disease-causing viruses, parasites and bacteria that can have a significant positive effect on animal and human health and economies in developing countries. In this context, the Group encourages the Agency to continue providing its expertise and support to these researches.
Madam Chair,
25. The Group also welcomes the work undertaken by the Agency in environmental protection, specifically with regards to ongoing researches on Nuclear Techniques in Marine Plastic Research to address the fate and toxicity of micro-plastics and associated contaminants in marine organisms. The Group encourages the IAEA to continue its work in this regard.
26. With these remarks, the Group of 77 and China takes note of the Nuclear Technology Review 2019, as contained in document GOV/2019/4.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Agenda item 7: Any other matters: Due Account Mechanism
Madam Chair,
1. The Group of 77 and China expresses its appreciation to the Chair of the Board for continuing the process of consultations with Member States. The Group also thanks the Secretariat for providing the background information on the Due Account Mechanism which is useful for an informed discussion on the subject.
2. The Group continues to be of the view that, in striving to achieve the goal of increasing the rate of attainment, the principles of fairness, neutrality and universality should be preserved.
3. The Group also believes that the application of the Due Account Mechanism should be done in a manner that does not adversely affect the TC Programme.
4. The Group reiterates its view that any progress on this subject should depend on dialogue, consensus and the decisions of the Policy Making Organs. The Group further highlights the need for additional information on this issue and is of the view that the organization of technical briefings would contribute to the consideration of the matter.
