The concluding session today was prefaced by an IAEA press release on the accident which occurred on 30 September at the Tokaimura facility in Japan, whose government has been keeping in close contact with the Agency about the event.

Among important steps taken during the week:

• Six more States - Czech Republic, Ecuador, Indonesia, Monaco, Norway, and Slovakia - signed agreements (Additional Protocols) during the week that strengthen the Agency's system for preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. The Protocols authorize the IAEA to apply verification measures that improve the Agency's capability to detect undeclared nuclear activities, including any possible clandestine nuclear-weapon programme. Altogether 45 States have concluded Protocols which have been approved by the IAEA Board of Governors, and others are in the process of negotiating them. In welcoming these steps, the General Conference underlined the vital importance of effective safeguards for facilitating cooperation in the field of peaceful nuclear development.
  
  

• States stressed the urgency of re-establishing the IAEA's nuclear monitoring and verification activities in Iraq, where the Agency's last inspections under mandate of the UN Security Council took place some nine months ago. Regarding the case of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), States called upon the DPRK to comply fully with its IAEA safeguards agreement and to take all steps that the Agency deems necessary to preserve relevant information for its verification.
  
  

• Under an Initiative launched in September 1997, US Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson, Russian Minister Evgueny Adamov, and IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei agreed in a meeting during the General Conference on further work towards the Agency's verification of weapon-origin fissile material in the two States.
  
  

• States agreed that the Agency should move ahead against illicit trafficking of nuclear and other radioactive materials. In welcoming initiatives to date, States invited the IAEA Director General to develop a plan and timetable for enhancing global cooperation and coordination in preventing, detecting, and responding to the illegal use of nuclear and other radioactive materials.
  
  

• Noting the global challenges of radiation safety and security, States overwhelmingly endorsed a multi-faceted IAEA action plan that includes expert assistance to help upgrade national capabilities for regulating commercial radiation sources, in particular "orphan sources" that have been lost or abandoned and are outside of regulatory control. Also backed were Agency initiatives that would help more States build infrastructures to ensure safety in the transport of radioactive materials, notably for transboundary shipments, and to improve radiological protection of patients undergoing diagnostic and therapeutic medical care.
  
  

• Expressing concern over the serious problem of water shortages, States underlined the urgent need for regional and global cooperation and invited the IAEA to take measures and concrete actions toward the effective development and practical application of nuclear technologies for producing potable water economically, including seawater desalination using nuclear energy. They also requested the Agency to continue its efforts in assisting national authorities with nuclear-related techniques and applications to develop and manage their water resources.
  
  

• States emphasized the need to strengthen technical cooperation activities and funding for the full range of the IAEA technology transfer programme. They specifically requested the IAEA to help interested countries in assessing nuclear power's role in light of global environmental challenges and energy needs. Such assistance should include facilitating access to relevant information about nuclear power's role in achieving sustainable development in developing countries and in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions through the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol, and support for implementing national case studies and preparing potential projects. (Also see the IAEA´s pages covering the Scientific Forum this week on Sustainable Development and Nuclear Power´s Future).