Vienna Chapter
Mr. Chairman,
The Group of 77 and China wishes to thank the Secretariat for the
elaboration of documents GOV/2002/35 and GOV/2002/36 under this agenda
item.
2. With respect to document GOV/2002/35, the Group of 77 and China
acknowledges the important work carried out by the Agency in response to
safety-related Board decisions and General Conference resolutions.
3. Concerning the measures implemented to strengthen international
co-operation in transport safety, the Group of 77 and China would like to
reiterate the remarks made during the June meeting of the Board that, in
2001, there were important developments in this field that reflect more
accurately the actual work carried out by the Agency to address in a
comprehensive way all issues related to transport safety. Hence, the Group
strongly believes that the activities described in GOV/2002/35, attachment
4, deserve to be incorporated in the Agency's Annual Report 2001, which,
in its present form, merely highlights the conclusions of a CRP report
that was officially finished in 1998 and does not involve major work by
the IAEA in 2001 nor commits the Agency to its conclusions.
Mr. Chairman,
4. In what concerns document GOV/2002/36, the Group of 77 and China
welcomes the formulation of the International Action Plan for the
Radiological Protection of Patients, due to its significant guidance to
all Member States toward the minimization of risk for patients under
radiation exposure, following the recommendations of the International
Conference held in Malaga in 2001. A great effort on education and
training is noticeable, for which the Agency's long-term support will be
of tremendous importance.
5. This notwithstanding, in view of the complex measures that some
countries may have to undertake in order to implement this Action Plan,
the Group believes that it would be highly desirable to devise a
transition plan, taking into account specific situations in relation to
the available means, resources, educational and regulatory framework in
Member States. Further more, the Group believes that some improvement in
the co-ordination between the Agency's Technical Co-operation Department
and other technical departments will be necessary, in order to optimize
their assistance delivery to Member States.
6. With these comments, Mr. Chairman, the Group of 77 and China takes
note of document GOV/2002/35 and approves, in principle, document
GOV/2002/36. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman,
The Group of 77 and China wishes to thank the Secretariat for the
elaboration of document GOV/2002/39, which contains a report on the
Agency's activities in 4 areas of great importance for developing Member
States.
2. The Group appreciates the steps taken by the Agency to address one
of the important issues being faced by the developing countries, i.e.,
managing nuclear knowledge. The problems associated with the diminishing
of nuclear knowledge and of relevant manpower have been voiced in various
Agency fora for quite some time now. The Group appreciates the convening
of a meeting of experts to discuss the issue last June. This meeting has
examined the issues which are important to deal with this problem
effectively. In this connection, the Group is pleased with the conclusions
and priority areas identified and expresses its satisfaction on the
finding that there is an immediate need to preserve existing nuclear
knowledge with full involvement of the Agency and with effective
international co-operation.
3. The Group thus hopes that the Agency will take the appropriate
measures for the speedy implementation of the recommended priority areas
identified by the experts' meeting last June. In this connection, the
Group encourages the Secretariat to support greater participation of
experts from developing countries in future meetings on this important
matter. The Group also welcomes the Agency's initiative to place this
important issue as a topic of discussion in the Scientific Forum to be
held in conjunction with the 46th Session of the General-Conference.
4. With respect to Attachment 2, on the "Support to the
Organization of African Unity's Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis
Eradication Campaign PATTEC", the Group stresses the importance of
the Campaign to eradicate tsetse flies, and believes that successful
implementation of the Plan of Action through utilization of the Sterile
Insect Techniques is fundamental to solve the problem, which is one of the
greatest constraints to the continent's socio-economic development.
5. The Secretariat is also encouraged to pursue its efforts to
support the PATTEC Campaign by further conducting coordinated research
projects and by organizing field visits to the affected areas in order to
enhance public awareness of the poverty and health dimension of the
problem.
6. In this connection, the Group believes that joint international
action against the Tsetse fly represents an effective approach to tackle
this issue. The major organizations, FAO, WHO, IAEA, are encouraged to
coordinate their respective roles and responsibilities. In this sense, the
Group welcomes the first joint press release by the OAU, FAO, WHO and
IAEA, issued at the workshop held in May 2002 at the FAO headquarter,
Rome.
7. With regard to Attachment 3, the Group of 77 notes with
appreciation the progress made in the International Project on Innovative
Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO), which we believe is appropriate
and timely. The Group is of the general view that this technological
innovation will provide an important option for future energy requirements
and it is expected that the Agency, as the sole global intergovernmental
organization for the promotion of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy
shall coordinate all relevant activities for developing more
cost-effective and safer nuclear power plants. The development of
innovative, cost-effective, proliferation and sabotage resistant and
environmentally friendly nuclear power technologies will encourage more
developing countries to join the Project. Moreover, the innovative
development in design on the small and medium size reactors make them an
attractive proposition for developing countries interested in pursuing
nuclear power programmes. Regarding the funding of this Project, the Group
reiterates that this activity could be considered for funding under the
regular budget, without prejudice to the Zero Real Growth (ZRG) criterion,
as stated during the Board Meeting last March.
8. In relation to the report on the implementation of GC(45)/Res/12 E
on 'Drought in Central America', the Group would like to express its
appreciation for the developments since the 45th session of the General
Conference 2001 especially in the framework of the Agency's technical
cooperation programme on isotope hydrology, taking into account the
different experiences derived of the applications of these techniques in
other geographical regions and with a view to promoting better knowledge
and use of water resources. In this regards, we encourage the Secretariat
to pursue these efforts.
9. With these remarks, Mr. Chairman, the Group of 77 and China is
pleased to take note of document GOV/2002/39. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman,
The Group of 77 and China wishes to convey to you, Mr. Chairman, its
sincere gratitude for your work in crafting an agreement on the financing
of technical co-operation for the next few years. The Group also very much
appreciates the efforts undertaken by Ambassadors Sreenivasan and Jenkins
towards that goal.
Mr. Chairman,
2. Due to the special relevance of that agreement, the Group of 77
and China requests that its terms, as contained in the 'Note Issued by the
Chairman of the Board of Governors - Financing of Technical Co-operation'
dated July 30, 2002, be duly reflected in draft resolution 'B' - Technical
Co-operation Fund Allocation for 2003 (document GC(46)/7).
Mr. Chairman,
3. The Group of 77 and China takes this opportunity to reiterate its
view that the requirements of the Technical Co-operation Program and the
will of the international community, rather than any financing formula,
should determine the quantum of the TCF targets and Indicative Planning
Figures (IPFs). In addition, all Member States of the Agency have
underlined the importance of making the resources for Technical
Co-operation adequate, predictable and assured.
4. In this connection, the Group considers that the balance among the
various statutory activities of the Agency is of fundamental importance
and believes that fixing of TCF targets and IPFs should not lead to any
imbalance in the functioning of the Agency. The Group thus stresses that
it is absolutely essential that the TCF should grow at least at a pace
comparable to the pace of growth of the IAEA regular budget.
5. Finally, Mr. Chairman, the Group wishes to express its
appreciation to all those Member States that have contributed to the
Technical Co-operation Fund (TCF) their full target shares in a timely
manner.
Thank you.
Mr. Chairman,
The Group of 77 and China would like to express its appreciation for
the report contained in document GOV/2002/39, on the Restoration of Voting
Rights.
2. In this respect, the Group acknowledges the usefulness of the
criteria and guidelines adopted in 1998 for the consideration of requests
by Member States in arrears in the payment of their financial
contributions to the Agency for the restoration of voting rights. In
addition, the Group expresses the view that the scheme proposed in
document GOV/1998/54/Rev.2 provides a reasonable tool to deal with the
problem of accumulation of financial arrears. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman,
The Group of 77 and China has carefully considered document
GOV/INF/2002/11 - GC(46)/14, which contains a report on the Agency's
progress on measures to protect against nuclear terrorism, and would like
to present the following remarks:
· The Group is glad to note that the Agency has adopted an
integrated approach to planning and implementing measures to protect
against nuclear terrorism. In this regard, the Agency is encouraged to
further improve this coherent approach in order to ensure the relevance of
the activities and their practical and cost-effective implementation.
· The Group also reiterates its principle position that the
Agency should implement all its activities in a balanced manner, in line
with the Agency's Statute. At the same time the Group stresses that the
implementation of the activities to prevent nuclear terrorism should not
take place at the expense of the established priorities of the Technical
Co-operation Program. Such priorities are to be defined by recipient
Member States according to their national interests and socio-economic
development plans.
· The Group stresses the importance it attaches to the
performance indicators and on having evaluation reports on a regular basis
in order to enable Member States to assess progress in the implementation
of the Agency's activities. This can be a useful guidance for Member
States to determine the Agency's future budget funding estimates.
· In view of the severe financial constraints faced by several
developing Member States, among other issues, the Group believes that the
funding mechanism for these activities should continue to be voluntary.
· Given the relevance of the work of the Advisory Group on
Nuclear Security (AdSec), the Group would like to be kept informed on its
findings and recommendations.
· The Group welcomes the Secretariat's initiative to invite
members of the Permanent Missions in Vienna to participate in a special
programme on the final day of the International Conference on "Advances
in destructive and non-destructive analysis for environmental monitoring
and nuclear forensics" scheduled for October 2002 along with a tour
of European Commissions' Institute for Trans-Uranium Elements at
Karlsruhe, Germany.
Mr. Chairman,
I would like now to refer to an issue of great importance to the
Group of 77 and China, namely the World Summit on Sustainable Development,
which recently concluded in Johannesburg.
2. The WSSD builds on the results of the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development held in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro: several
landmark agreements aimed at halting and reversing environmental
destruction, poverty and inequality. In accepting Agenda 21, the
international community agreed to integrate social and economic
development with environmental protection, in a manner that can ensure the
sustainability of our planet and the prosperity of all humanity.
3. These important decisions were reinforced by the conclusions
reached at a series of international conferences covering such important
issues as food security, health, energy, financing for development and the
environment. The UN Millennium Summit stands out among these global
conferences because its outcome, the Millennium Declaration, constitutes a
united pledge made by the world's political leaders at the highest level.
4. The Group of 77 and China hopes that the commitments contained in
the Millennium Declaration can truly translate into the Johannesburg Plan
of Action, so that the goals that humanity has already set itself may come
into being.
5. In this connection, the Group appreciates the update provided by
the Secretariat on the Agency's participation in the WSSD and notes with
satisfaction the partnership initiatives submitted by the Agency in the
following areas: · Capacity Building and Technology Transfer in
Sustainable Water Resources and Coastal Zone Management; · Indicators
for Sustainable Energy Development; · Designing Country Profiles on
Sustainable Energy Development; · Initiative on Harmful Algal Blooms.
6. The potential of nuclear science and its applications to address
problems and issues relating to sustainable development is immense. The
Group thus reiterates its view in favour of a wider interaction between
the Agency and other international organizations, in particular in areas
of high relevance to the promotion of sustainable socio-economic
development. Moreover, we trust that the Agency's continued participation
in relevant international events will contribute to greater public
recognition and appreciation of the benefits of nuclear science and also
attract extra funding for research activities and technical co-operation
projects in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
7. Finally, Mr. Chairman, the Group requests the Secretariat to
periodically report on the progress achieved in relation to the
initiatives presented by the Agency in Johannesburg.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman
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