UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY PLENARY AGENDA ITEM 89 – REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY
STATEMENT DELIVERED BY H.E. MS VANESSA WOOD, AMBASSADOR FOR ARMS CONTROL AND COUNTER-PROLIFERATION
15 October 2024
Australia thanks the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for its report and Ghana for introducing draft resolution A/79/L.9, which Australia is pleased to co-sponsor.
Australia has always been a strong supporter of the independence, mandate and technical authority of the IAEA. Under the leadership of Director General Grossi, the Agency’s staff work diligently, professionally and impartially to deliver outcomes across the IAEA’s remit, and we are proud to support their work through the resolutions and decisions contained in this resolution.
This year’s IAEA General Conference again occurred against the backdrop of several significant threats to global peace and security, making the work of the IAEA more important than ever. As Russia’s illegal and immoral war against Ukraine continues, the Agency’s support for Ukrainian nuclear facilities is critical. We were proud to support the resolution on ‘Nuclear safety, security and safeguards in Ukraine’, led by Canada and Finland. We reiterate our call on Russia to withdraw immediately from Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and from all of Ukraine, and reject any suggestion that sham referenda and forcible occupation have resulted in any change to Ukrainian sovereignty.
We further welcome Canada’s leadership of the resolution on ‘Implementation of the NPT safeguards agreement between the Agency and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’. We are disappointed that one delegation chose to dissociate from the resolution, but note the ongoing consensus. We call for a strong and united response by the international community to the DPRK’s provocations and we urge the DPRK to permit the return of IAEA safeguards inspectors, sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, and take steps towards returning to full compliance with IAEA safeguards and the NPT as a non-nuclear weapons state.
Australia remains seriously concerned by Iran’s protracted failure to comply with its NPT safeguards obligations. We call on Iran to cease its escalatory actions and to implement in full and without delay the Joint Statement of 4 March 2023. We thank the Agency for its professionalism, impartiality and dedication with respect to its crucial work in Iran.
Australia is pleased that all technical resolutions were once again passed by consensus. We are proud to have contributed to this endeavour through our coordination of the resolution on Nuclear and Radiation Safety. That resolution agreed new technical priorities for the Agency on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, fusion energy, and addressing denials of shipments. We were also pleased to have secured 46 cosponsors, reflecting the importance and value of the Agency’s work on safety.
We regret that some member States again disrupted the smooth negotiation of a number of technical resolutions over issues with gender equality. Australia is committed to advancing gender equality and supports gender mainstreaming in all the activities of the Agency. We strongly believe that gender equality should be an uncontroversial feature of the Agency’s work, in line with the international commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 5.
We welcome the Director General’s continued commitment to provide updates to the Board of Governors on developments relating to naval nuclear propulsion as he deems appropriate. We welcome constructive discussions in the Board on naval nuclear propulsion on the basis of those updates.
Finally, we welcome resolutions approving the applications of Cook Islands and Somalia for membership of the Agency. We are particularly pleased to welcome another member from the Pacific region.
Australia continues to be a strong supporter of the Agency’s full mandate – to support global efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and to promote the safe, secure and peaceful uses of nuclear technology for those who choose to use it. Australia was proud to announce at the General Conference additional extrabudgetary funding of eight million Australian dollars to support the IAEA’s technical cooperation, nuclear applications and nuclear safety and security work, with a focus on the Indo-Pacific. In addition, Australia’s nuclear agencies will continue to provide in-kind support to the IAEA across the full remit of its activities, and we will seek to deliver tangible outcomes in technical cooperation and research, including in relation to cancer diagnostic and treatment technologies, strengthening regional radiation safety, and addressing ocean plastics pollution.
We are pleased to support this resolution to adopt the IAEA’s annual report.
Thank you.