42nd IAEA General Conference

Belarus, Mr. Ivan Kenik, Chairman, Committee on the Problems of the Consequences of the Chernobyl Catastrophe, Ministry of Emergencies:

Since its independence, Belarus has continued to adhere to the principle of non-proliferation, said. It had signed the START agreement, the NPT, as well as a safeguards agreement with the IAEA. The speaker expressed support for the Agency’s promotion of nuclear weapons free zones and regional disarmament. He called on States with active military nuclear programmes to dismantle those programmes. On safeguards, he indicated that Belarus was doing everything it could to provide for effective control over nuclear materials; the government was also working on the preparation of an Additional Protocol for signature. In addition, Belarus was implementing the strengthened safeguards programme, allowing unimpeded access to inspectors. Thanks to donor countries and the Agency, a regional training center in Belarus had been set up for monitoring and protecting nuclear materials; two successful seminars had already been held to familiarize participants with IAEA safeguards and the means of protecting nuclear materials; specifically Japan had provided support to equip the center. Belarus would like to see increased resources devoted for programmes dealing with the protection of nuclear materials. The speaker also mentioned that Belarus had become signatory to the Convention on Nuclear Safety in January of this year. It had also participated in the first Review Meeting. The government was currently assessing the possibility of becoming signatory to the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage. The speaker welcomed the technical cooperation programme of the Agency and urged more use of the nuclear engineering expertise in Belarus. Finally, as regards measures to improve payments and arrears, Belarus had fully paid its dues to the Agency this year. It was working on paying all arrears.

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Belarus, Mr. Ivan Kenik, Chairman, Committee on the Problems of the Consequences of the Chernobyl Catastrophe, Ministry of Emergencies:



Since its independence, Belarus has continued to adhere to the principle of non-proliferation, said. It had signed the START agreement, the NPT, as well as a safeguards agreement with the IAEA. The speaker expressed support for the Agency’s promotion of nuclear weapons free zones and regional disarmament. He called on States with active military nuclear programmes to dismantle those programmes. On safeguards, he indicated that Belarus was doing everything it could to provide for effective control over nuclear materials; the government was also working on the preparation of an Additional Protocol for signature. In addition, Belarus was implementing the strengthened safeguards programme, allowing unimpeded access to inspectors. Thanks to donor countries and the Agency, a regional training center in Belarus had been set up for monitoring and protecting nuclear materials; two successful seminars had already been held to familiarize participants with IAEA safeguards and the means of protecting nuclear materials; specifically Japan had provided support to equip the center. Belarus would like to see increased resources devoted for programmes dealing with the protection of nuclear materials. The speaker also mentioned that Belarus had become signatory to the Convention on Nuclear Safety in January of this year. It had also participated in the first Review Meeting. The government was currently assessing the possibility of becoming signatory to the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage. The speaker welcomed the technical cooperation programme of the Agency and urged more use of the nuclear engineering expertise in Belarus. Finally, as regards measures to improve payments and arrears, Belarus had fully paid its dues to the Agency this year. It was working on paying all arrears.