Mr. President,
Norway is pleased to co-sponsor the draft resolution on the Report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). My government attaches great importance to the IAEA. Besides being a key guardian of our collective non-proliferation regime, the IAEA is an important partner in promoting social and economic development while ensuring the safety and security of peaceful nuclear programmes. Through its extensive technical cooperation program, the Agency is providing assistance to developing countries in promoting health, food security and environmental monitoring. As such, the Agency plays an important role in contributing towards achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals.
Mr. President,
Nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament are closely inter-linked. We cannot achieve the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons as set out by the NPT, unless there is confidence in the integrity of the non-proliferation regime. The outcome of the 2010 NPT Review Conference contains clear commitments on both disarmament and non-proliferation. It is vital that we provide the Agency with the necessary legal tools to implement its non-proliferation mandate. Norway therefore reiterates its call for the universalization of the IAEA comprehensive safeguards agreements and the Additional Protocol. It is only through the full implementation of these two instruments that the Agency will be able to conclude that nuclear activities in any given country is for peaceful purposes only. Norway also urges all countries with outstanding proliferation issues to fully cooperate with the Agency in resolving these matters and in demonstrating the sole peaceful nature of their nuclear programs.
The NPT Review Conference also underlined the importance of international cooperation with regards to peaceful use of nuclear energy. It should be noted that the majority of the countries in the world, including Norway, do not produce electricity from nuclear power plants. Yet, we recognize that as the demand for energy increases, the more countries may come to identify nuclear energy as an attractive option. The role of the IAEA would then become even more critical in the years to come.
Norway has provided substantial voluntary contributions to support IAEA’s work to strengthen nuclear safety and security in developing countries and to the establishment of a nuclear fuel bank. It is imperative that we, the member states, provide sufficient and predictable funding so that the Agency can carry out its important mandate. Equally important is that the international community demonstrates full political support to the IAEA. My delegation expects that today’s resolution will be adopted by consensus.