STATEMENT
by Ms. OLENA MYKOLAICHUK
Head of the Delegation of Ukraine to the 54th session of the IAEA General Conference, Governor for Ukraine in the IAEA Board of Governors,
Chairperson of the State Nuclear Regulatory Committee of Ukraine
(September 21, 2010, Vienna)
Mr. President,
At the outset allow me to join previous speakers in congratulating you on your election as President of the 54th session of the IAEA General Conference.
We would also like to take this opportunity to welcome the Kingdom of Swaziland as a new member state of the IAEA and wish it every success in its cooperation with the Agency. Expansion of the IAEA membership is an additional proof to the Agency’s growing authority.
Esteemed participants of the IAEA General Conference,
Ukraine associates itself with the statement made by a distinguished representative of Belgium on behalf of the European Union.
The year 2010 marks an important milestone for nuclear non-proliferation regime. We welcome the consensus reached at the 2010 NPT Review Conference. The action plan, agreed on all three pillars of the NPT, demonstrates the resolve of all states not only to uphold but also to strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Ukraine has always been committed to effective multilateral action against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. We believe that we made a good contribution to the success of the 2010 NPT Review Conference chairing the Main Committee II of the Conference, which dealt with non-proliferation issues. We are particularly glad that in 2010 we managed to secure an agreement on further steps to implement the 1995 NPT Resolution on the Middle East, including a relevant conference to be convened in 2012. That is why it is of utmost importance at this IAEA General Conference to build upon the results of the 2010 NPT Review Conference and to avoid trends that might undermine the success achieved.
Mr. President,
Ukraine reaffirms the role of the IAEA in verifying and assuring compliance by states with their safeguards obligations under the NPT. The Agency’s system of safeguards is a fundamental component of the nuclear non-proliferation regime. We would like to reiterate our view that the measures contained in the Additional Protocol form an integral part of this system and that Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements together with Additional Protocols constitute the current highest verification standard. We note the increased number of countries which have brought into force the Additional Protocol to their Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement. The milestone of 100 countries with the AP has been reached but we continue to call on those states which have not yet done so to follow the suit as soon as possible.
Ukraine strictly fulfills its obligations under our Safeguards Agreement and the Additional Protocol. Since January 2006 Ukraine has the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and Addition Protocol in force. We highly appreciate the tireless efforts by the Agency’s inspectors who are involved in safeguards activities in my country. We welcome the move towards integrated safeguards and in particular the Agency’s emphasis on an information-driven safeguards system. We continue to work with the IAEA to establish necessary conditions to start the application of IAEA integrated safeguards in Ukraine.
Mr. President, Esteemed participants of the IAEA General Conference,
Each country has the right to define its own energy strategy. The Agency has a key role to play in assisting countries to ensure that the development and operation of nuclear power proceeds under the most stringent legal, operational, safety, security and non-proliferation conditions.
We are convinced that human resources development, including education and training, is of vital importance for the safe, secure and peaceful use of atomic energy.
The emerging and expanding nuclear power programmes as well as the more sophisticated and wider use of radiation sources would be short-lived without proper attention to safety and security. We strongly support the Agency's activities aimed at improving nuclear, radiation, transport and waste safety as well as security worldwide. International cooperation is crucial for promoting global nuclear safety framework.
It is well known that both the Convention on Nuclear Safety and the Joint Convention on Safety of Spent Fuel and Safety of Radioactive Waste Management were developed, inter alia, as the result of lessons learnt from the Chornobyl disaster and that both conventions provide governments with valuable instruments for streamlining national activities in order to achieve the highest safety levels. We consider that participation in such incentive instruments is in the best interests of any country having or planning its own nuclear power programme. Ukraine calls upon states, embarking on a nuclear power programme, to become contracting party to these conventions without delay and hesitation. We are also of the view that Agency’s comprehensive set of safety standards is fundamental for any nuclear programme and any nuclear technology application. We positively note the recent establishment of the International Nuclear Safety Centre as well as the International Seismic Safety Centre and would like to underline the value of both TC projects and safety review services being conducted by the IAEA.
Mr. President,
Ukraine supports IAEA efforts in strengthening regulatory cooperation between nuclear safety authorities aimed at bridging the experience gap. We recognize the value of Agency's efforts in capacity building, particularly for regulatory authorities, and strongly support the launch of the Regulatory Cooperation Forum.
In May this year the IAEA presented the Final Report of the Joint EU-IAEA-Ukraine project on comprehensive safety assessment of all operating Ukrainian NPPs. For the last 2 years the Agency conducted a number of missions to all 15 Ukrainian nuclear power reactors addressing issues of design safety, operational safety and waste safety. The legal and governmental infrastructure has been assessed by the full scope IRRS mission as well. We are pleased to note the positive conclusions of this in-depth review and consider it as unprecedented and extremely valuable tool for improvement of national safety infrastructure. We would like to encourage other countries both with mature and emerging nuclear power programmes to consider conducting such missions and assessments.
Ukraine is convinced of the benefits of multilateral approaches to the nuclear fuel cycle. We would like to encourage states to continue discussion within the IAEA on the development of such approaches in a non-discriminatory and transparent manner. A year ago the first important step was made when the IAEA BOG approved the agreement between the IAEA and the Russian Federation on establishment of the LEU reserve in the territory of the Russian Federation for the purposes of the Agency. Ukraine supported this agreement. We believe that it is the appropriate time now to move further on the issue of LEU bank proposed by the IAEA Secretariat and to consider the conditions and modalities of its functioning.
I would like to inform delegations that Ukraine participates in the work of the International Uranium Enrichment Centre in Angarsk (Russia), which is the first such type of joint enterprises and which may serve as an example for future activities in this field.
Mr. President, Esteemed participants of the IAEA General Conference,
Nuclear security is an essential programme of the Agency. Ukraine commends the IAEA for its activities aimed at assisting states in preventing and combating nuclear terrorism. We would like to emphasise the important role of the IAEA in fostering international cooperation in nuclear security, in establishing a comprehensive set of nuclear security guidelines and in assisting member states, upon their request, to enhance nuclear security.
Both the 2010 Washington Nuclear Security Summit and the 2010 NPT Review Conference reaffirmed the IAEA’s role in strengthening nuclear security worldwide.
On April 12, 2010 President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and President of the United States Barack Obama in the Joint Statement reaffirmed their shared vision of a world free of nuclear weapons, pledged to work together to prevent nuclear proliferation and to realize the goal of securing all vulnerable nuclear materials. President Yanukovych announced Ukraine’s decision to get rid of all stocks of HEU by the time of the next summit, while our partners will provide necessary technical and financial assistance to support this effort. I would like to inform the General Conference that activities on transportation of highly enriched uranium from Ukrainian research reactors have already begun. We intend to remove a substantial part of those stocks by the end of this year. The meaning of our voluntary step is crystal clear - Ukraine takes non-proliferation seriously. We expect that our example will serve as a pattern for others. Our decision is also a proof of our commitment to the implementation of the UNSC Resolution 1887 (2009).
Addressing the nation on June 3, 2010 President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych reaffirmed Ukraine’s determination to continue to participate actively in international efforts aimed at halting the proliferation of nuclear materials and technologies. Ukraine will continue to cooperate closely with other partners in order to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism through the implementation of special security measures and through provision of an effective control over sensitive materials. In this connection and in light of the increasing threat of nuclear proliferation Ukraine supports the call for expeditious beginning of negotiations on the Agreement on prohibition of production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons.
Mr. President,
Effective Physical Protection is of utmost importance to prevent nuclear material falling into hands of terrorists or accidental misuse, and to protect nuclear facilities against unauthorised use and malicious acts.
Ukraine notes with concern that five years after the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material was adopted by consensus, only 41 out of 143 Parties to the Convention have adhered to the Amendment. We believe that the Amendment constitutes an important benchmark in international efforts to improve physical protection of nuclear material and facilities. The Amendment is vitally important for nuclear security and will have a major impact on reducing vulnerability of states to nuclear terrorism. Ukraine deposited the instrument of ratification of the Amendment in December 2008 and incorporated all its provisions into the national legislation. We call upon all states that have not yet done so to adhere to the Convention and the Amendment and to act in accordance with the object and purpose of the Amendment pending its entry into force.
Ukraine highly estimates the IAEA role in nuclear security competence development. We pay a considerable attention to the issue at the national level, and this year, with graduation of 48 nuclear security engineers from the Sevastopol National University of Nuclear Energy and Technology, we have reached one of the important milestones. We commend the Agency for its invaluable support given to us to develop training and education facilities for nuclear security purposes at the Sevastopol National University and confirm our willingness to contribute to implementation of the IAEA nuclear security education programme.
Ukraine also appreciates the considerable activities of the Agency in strengthening nuclear security measures at major public events, particularly the support which is being provided to Ukraine and Poland in preparation for the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship.
Mr. President,
Ukraine welcomes the activities of the Agency to increase the contribution of nuclear technology to health and economic development and to promote dissemination of knowledge on peaceful application of nuclear technologies among states.
It is very appropriate that the Scientific Forum of the 54th session of the IAEA General Conference this year takes up the issue of cancer in developing countries. Mindful of the importance of medical radioisotopes, Ukraine encourages the IAEA to pursue its work, in cooperation with other international organizations and stakeholders, to ensure continuous and better use of radioisotope supplies. In this connection we would like to commend the Director General for his initiative and efforts aimed at improving cancer control in developing countries.
Mr. President, Esteemed participants of the IAEA General Conference,
We have always been a strong supporter of the TC Programme, which constitutes an important statutory function of the Agency. Ukraine considers implementation of the IAEA Technical Cooperation Programme as the cornerstone of international cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Regional and national technical cooperation projects have significantly contributed to safety and effectiveness of peaceful use of nuclear energy in Ukraine. As of now we demonstrate tangible and sustainable results of our cooperation, particularly regarding safety improvements at our nuclear power plants. We also highly appreciate the already achieved results in improving quality and effectiveness of nuclear medicine, radiotherapy and medical physics.
Mr. President,
Taking the opportunity, which the IAEA General Conference presents to us, I would like to draw the attention of delegations to the important event for
Ukraine, with the support of the international community, is still restoring the Chornobyl site. As the major projects are entering the construction phase, substantial sums (estimated to be in order of 750 million euro) will be required to complete them. International solidarity will be essential to raise the necessary funds. We count on the support of donors and states at the upcoming pledging event on this occasion to help us bring the Chornobyl projects to a successful conclusion.
Mr. President, Esteemed participants of the IAEA General Conference,
In conclusion we would like to join other delegations in supporting the IAEA Report for the Year 2009 and expressing high appreciation for the work of the IAEA Director General Mr.Amano and the Agency’s Secretariat.
Ukraine will continue its active involvement in the IAEA activities.
Thank you.