Statement by the Group of 77 and China at the Informal Meeting of the Technical Assistance and Cooperation Committee, delivered by
Ms. Verónica Gomez-Ricaurte, Chargé d’Affaires a.i., Permanent Mission of Ecuador
Vienna, 25 January 2019
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 through informal meetings of the TACC. The Group welcomes the work of the co-facilitators as reflected in document 2018/Note 77 and commends the co-facilitators for the transparency and inclusiveness of the entire process.
2. The Group underlines the importance of maintaining the highest possible rate of attainment and continues to be of the view that, in striving to achieve this goal in the context of Due Account Mechanism, the principles of fairness, neutrality and universality should be preserved.
3. The Group also believes that the application of the Due Account Mechanism must not negatively affect, in any way, Member States’ inalienable rights to benefit from Nuclear Technology for peaceful purposes, in accordance with the Statute of the IAEA, nor should it adversely impact the development efforts of Member States as well as the TC Programme as a whole.
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. While appreciating the information provided by the Secretariat, the Group is of the view that the organization of technical briefings would contribute to the consideration of the matter.
