U.S. reconfirms support for IAEA - statement by Richard T. Kennedy in a session of UN General Assembly on November 11, 1986 for International Atomic Energy Agency

US Department of State Bulletin, Jan, 1987

U.S. Reconfirms Support for IAEA

Statement in a plenary session of the UN General Assembly on November 11, 1986. Ambassador Kennedy is U.S. permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Ambassador at Large and special adviser to the Secretary on nonproliferation policy and nuclear energy affairs.1

As the U.S. representative to the InternationalAtomic Energy Agency, it is a great pleasure for me today to consider, with my distinguished colleagues, the annual report of the IAEA. I am particularly gratified for the important work of the IAEA and to reflect briefly on its solid record of accomplishment in promoting the safe and peaceful uses of nuclear energy for the benefit of people throughout the world.

My government joins those who havecommended the Director General for his excellent report and statement and for the agency's work which it reflects. The IAEA--its staff and its member states-- can look with justificable pride and satisfaction upon its ongoing safeguards and technical cooperation activities and its accomplishments in the field of nuclear safety.

Over the 30 years of its life, theIAEA has assumed ever greater importance as a key instrument in the global efforts to protect against the further proliferation of nuclear weapons, while assuring that the benefits of peaceful uses of nuclear energy are made widely available. It is an agency which the United States ranks among the most important of the international institutions.

The vital international safeguardsprogram which the IAEA administers provides the necessary confidence to states throughout the world and nuclear energy is being used only in the intended peaceful ways. And, thus, the agency's safeguards program provides the necessary underpinning for broad cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy for the benefit of all. My government is particularly gratified that the agency has continued to strengthen its safeguards program, developing new and more effective ways to increase international confidence, while at the same time keeping a watchful eye on the resource commitments involved.

The agency also is to be congratulatedfor its successful efforts to promote the widespread use of the peaceful atom. Its technical cooperation activities in nuclear energy--including nuclear medicine--in improvement of food and agriculture contribute greatly to the well-being of peoples throughout the world.

The IAEA plays a leading role, too,in efforts to assure that nuclear power is used in a way which fully protects the public health and safety. Earlier this year, following the tragic accident at Chernobyl, we were vividly reminded of the critical role of the IAEA in the field of nuclear safety. The rapid and effective response of the IAEA to that accident, and its subsequent efforts to address in a comprehensive manner its immediate and long-term consequences, amply reflect the initiative and seriousness of purpose which have, for so many years, distinguished the agency's work.

My government wishes particularlyto commend the IAEA for its support of the successful efforts by member states to complete negotiations, within a period of weeks, on two international conventions regarding early notification and emergency assistance in the event of nuclear accidents. These conventions are significant not only for their practical applications but for the fact that they emerged from a spirit of compromise and cooperation, all too rare in multilateral fora.

This same constructive spirit wasevidenced at the post-Chernobyl experts meeting in August and at the special session of the IAEA general conference on nuclear safety in September. Each of these meetings resulted in a thoroughly constructive exchange of views, which doubtless will form the basis for the agency's future activities in the nuclear safety area.

I have cited these recent initiativesby the agency because they so clearly typify the manner in which the IAEA does its work year after year. In that light, 1985--on which the Director General has so well reported--was no exception. While most of its activites are not featured on the front pages of the world's newspapers, and while most of its projects, courses, and special programs receive little or no public attention, the agency consistently approaches its work with dedication and competence. It seeks always to respond effectively to the diverse interests and needs of its members.

At the same time, we must look tothe future to assure that the IAEA remains an effective international institution--one which maintains a clear focus on its technical mandate of safeguards, technical cooperation, and nuclear safety. In the past, the agency on occasion has become embroiled in political controversies and issues extraneous to its statute and its mission. Such controversies unfortunately have occupied unnecessarily and undesirably the attention of its policymaking organs and governing bodies. We are pleased that there appears to be a trend away from such extraneous debate. It is incumbent on all of its members to assure that the agency not be distracted from its vital technical missions.