Disarmament Documentation

Director-General Dr Mohamed ElBaradei introductory statement to IAEA Board of Governors, September 11, 2006

Introductory Statement to the Board of Governors by IAEA Director General Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, IAEA Board of Governors, Vienna, September 11, 2006.

Excerpts

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Verification of Nuclear Non-Proliferation

Status of Safeguards Agreements and Additional Protocols

Since the last meeting of the Board in June, comprehensive safeguards agreements have entered into force for Botswana and Oman, and additional protocols have entered into force for Botswana, Fiji and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

This brings to 78 the total number of States with additional protocols in force or provisionally applied. However, over 100 States - including 25 with significant nuclear activities - have yet to bring additional protocols into force.

Implementation of Safeguards in the Democratic People´s Republic of Korea

Since 31 December 2002, when Agency verification activities were terminated at the request of the Democratic People´s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the Agency has been unable to draw any conclusions regarding the DPRK´s nuclear activities. I continue to believe in the importance and urgency of finding a negotiated solution to the current situation. The Agency stands ready to work with the DPRK - and with all others - towards a solution that addresses the needs of the international community to ensure that all nuclear activities in the DPRK are exclusively for peaceful purposes, while addressing the security and other needs of the DPRK.

Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Regarding the implementation of safeguards in the Islamic Republic of Iran: on 31 July 2006, the Security Council adopted resolution 1696, in which it called upon Iran to take the steps required by the Board in its resolution of 4 February 2006. These steps included the necessity of the Agency continuing its work to clarify all outstanding issues relating to Iran's nuclear programme, and the re-establishment by Iran of full and sustained suspension of all its enrichment related and repossessing activities. As requested by resolution 1696, you have before you the report that I submitted to the Board and in parallel to the Security Council, on 31 August, regarding Iran´s fulfillment of the requirements of that resolution.

As you can see from the report, Iran had not suspended its enrichment related activities. I should note that - although the inspectors´ findings indicated that there had been little qualitative or quantitative buildup of Iran´s enrichment capacity at Natanz - due to the absence of the implementation of the additional protocol, the Agency is not able to assess fully Iran´s enrichment related research and development activities, including the possible production of centrifuges and related equipment.

As I have indicated in the past, all the nuclear material declared by Iran to the Agency has been accounted for - and, apart from the small quantities previously reported to the Board, there have been no further findings of undeclared nuclear material in Iran.

But as I have also stated before, gaps remain in the Agency´s knowledge with respect to the scope and nature of Iran´s current and past centrifuge enrichment programme. Because of this, and the lack of readiness of Iran to resolve these issues, the Agency is unable to make further progress in its efforts to provide assurances about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran. This continues to be a matter of serious concern.

I should also reiterate that it is counterproductive for Iran to link its cooperation with the Agency to its ongoing dialogue with its European and other partners. Increased cooperation and transparency are indispensable to resolve these gaps in knowledge regarding Iran´s past nuclear programme, and would assist greatly in overcoming concerns regarding Iran´s nuclear programme.

Application of IAEA Safeguards in the Middle East

Pursuant to the mandate given to me by the General Conference, I have continued my consultations with the States of the Middle East region on the application of full scope safeguards to all nuclear activities in the Middle East, and on the development of model agreements as a necessary step towards the establishment of a Middle East Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone. However, I regret to say that no progress has been made on either front.

The General Conference has also asked me to organize a forum on the relevance of the experience of other regions with existing nuclear-weapon-free zones - including confidence building and verification measures - for establishing such a zone in the region of the Middle East. To date, however, consultations with concerned States of the region have failed to produce an agreement on the agenda for such a forum. I remain ready to convene this forum, if and when the concerned States are able to reach agreement on how to move forward.

New Framework for the Nuclear Fuel Cycle

As you are aware, I have been calling since 2004 for the development of a new, multilateral approach to the nuclear fuel cycle, as a key measure to strengthen non-proliferation and cope with the expected expansion of nuclear power. The establishment of a framework that is equitable and accessible to all users of nuclear energy acting in accordance with agreed nuclear non-proliferation norms, will certainly be a complex endeavour, and therefore in my view will be best addressed through a series of progressive phases, beginning with mechanisms for assurances of supply of fuel for nuclear power plants. A broad range of ideas and proposals have been put forward.

At a Special Event at the General Conference next week, these ideas and proposals will be discussed. My hope is that these discussions will enable us to develop a roadmap for moving forward, with a clear outline that will guide the Secretariat in its work...

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency, http://www.iaea.org.

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