68th IAEA General Conference

Opening of the 68th Regular Session of the General Conference

The 68th regular session of the General Conference will open on Monday, 16 September 2024, at 10.00 a.m. It will be held in the M and C Buildings of the Vienna International Centre (VIC).

Plenary meetings will be held in the Plenary Hall in the M Building (first floor), while meetings of the Committee of the Whole will be held in Board Room C in the C Building (fourth floor).

Unless otherwise decided by the Conference, morning meetings will begin at 10.00 a.m. and afternoon meetings at 3.00 p.m. Delegates are requested to be in their places by those times to allow meetings to start punctually. Evening meetings, as and when they become necessary, will be announced accordingly during the session.

Agenda

The provisional agenda for the 68th regular session is contained in document GC(68)/1 and GC(68)/1/Add.1.

Pre-Session Consultations

During the weekend preceding the opening of the General Conference (Saturday, 14 September 2024 and Sunday, 15 September 2024), facilities for group meetings can be made available on request. Member States are urged to avail themselves of these facilities with a view to achieving agreement on organizational matters (e.g., regarding the composition of the General Committee) before the General Conference opens on Monday, 16 September 2024. This will contribute to the smooth running of the General Conference. Accordingly, Member States should ensure — where necessary — that their representatives arrive in Vienna in time to participate in pre-session group meetings and the associated group decision making. Meeting facilities should be reserved by Wednesday, 11 September 2024 at the latest, through the Agency’s Conference Services Section. Requests should be submitted by email to GC Room Reservations.

Registration Process and Entry Badges

Rule 23 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference (document GC(XXXI)/INF/245/Rev.1) provides for each Member State of the Agency to be represented at the General Conference by one delegate, who may be accompanied by as many alternates, advisers, technical advisers, experts and persons of similar status as may be required by the delegation.

Designated focal points for online registration shall register their delegation through the InTouch+ online portal, accessible through the following link https://intouchplus.iaea.org/ under the General Conference tab. Registration will be open as of 12 August and should be completed by 11 September.

United Nations Specialized Agencies and non-Member States shall contact GC-Registration.Contact-Point@iaea.org  for registration.

Each participant attending the General Conference will require a photo badge to access the VIC. Heads of Permanent Missions and diplomatic staff accredited to the IAEA do not require an additional badge, however, must ensure that their current VIC grounds pass is valid. All other delegates need to collect a conference badge valid for the duration of the General Conference.

Once meeting participants are registered online (see registration procedures attached to the invitation letter), the United Nations Pass Office will send an email notification to the email address provided by the participant, containing a link to upload a photograph or to confirm an existing photograph in the United Nations Pass Office badging system. Participants who did not upload a photograph are requested to proceed to the designated IAEA Registration Desk. A photo ID and a copy of the official nomination are required to be presented at the IAEA Registration Desk. Participants need to allow additional time to have their picture taken and their access badge issued on-site.

To avoid long queues during the morning of Monday, 16 September, registered participants are strongly encouraged to collect their badges in advance upon presentation of a valid photo ID at the IAEA Registration Desk at Gate 1 on the following days:

Thursday, 12 September                        12.00 noon–4.00 p.m.

Friday, 13 September                              9.00 a.m.–6.00 p.m.

Sunday, 15 September                           10.00 a.m.–6.00 p.m.

In principle, badges should be collected in person. However, advance collection of pre-printed badges is possible by an authorized person upon presentation of an official letter or note verbale specifying the name of the collector and listing the names of participants whose badges are to be collected. Please note that once collected, badges cannot be returned to the Registration Desk, nor reprinted. Should advance collection of badges not be possible, badges can be collected at the IAEA Registration Desk at Gate 1 as of 7.30 a.m. on Monday, 16 September 2024.

On-site registration will be possible at the IAEA Registration Desk at Gate 1 (upon presentation of an official letter of nomination, together with a photo ID) on the following days:

Thursday, 12 September                          12.00 noon–4.00 p.m.

Friday, 13 September                                9.00 a.m.–6.00 p.m.

Sunday, 15 September                            10.00 a.m.–6.00 p.m.

Monday, 16 September                           7.30 a.m.–6.00 p.m.

Tuesday, 17 September                           8.00 a.m.–4.00 p.m.

Wednesday, 18 September                    9.00 a.m.–12.00 noon

Please allow ample time for security screening and registration.

Participants are reminded that badges must be worn visibly at all times on the premises of the VIC.

Questions regarding the registration process may be sent by email to GC‑Registration.Contact-Point@iaea.org.

Credentials of Delegates

Heads of Delegation (but not other members of delegations) will require credentials specifically for the session, even if they are already accredited to the Agency in some other capacity (for example, as Resident Representative). It is emphasized that, in accordance with Rule 27 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference, original credentials must be issued either by the Head of State or Government or by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Member State concerned and must be submitted to the Director General, if possible not less than seven days before the start of the Conference, i.e. Monday, 9 September, in order to facilitate the smooth proceeding of the Conference, in particular the work of the General Committee.

As of 2.30 p.m. on Sunday, 15 September, original credentials that have not been previously submitted to the Director General should be hand delivered directly to the Credentials Officer (M Building, ground floor, room M0E69). It should be noted that credentials cannot be accepted during registration at Gate 1 of the VIC.

For any assistance regarding credentials, please contact the Credentials Officer at Credentials@iaea.org.

Visa Arrangements

Conference participants who require a visa to enter Austria are urged to contact the nearest consular representative of Austria and apply for a valid entry visa well in advance. Visa-related enquiries should be addressed to GC-Registration.Contact-Point@iaea.org. The Secretariat’s support of visa applications by registered participants is subject to the host country’s policy on visas and entry requirements. The outcome of the visa application is the decision of the Austrian authorities.

Cost of Attendance

Member States are also reminded that, in accordance with Rule 26 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference, the cost of attendance at the General Conference of the delegation of each Member State shall be borne by the Member State concerned.

List of Participants

A provisional list of participants (document GC(68)/INF/5 Provisional List) will be issued online on Friday, 13 September 2024, containing information that has been received by the Secretariat by Wednesday, 11 September 2024, and will be made available on the General Conference website and the IAEA Conference and Meetings App. A final list of participants (document GC(68)/INF/5) — containing information that has been communicated to the Secretariat by 3.00 p.m. on Wednesday, 18 September 2024, will be available online on Friday, 20 September 2024. Printed copies will be available upon request in the Protocol Office (M0E75).

Should changes be required after issuance of the provisional list of participants, delegations are requested to inform Protocol in writing to GC-Registration.Contact-Point@iaea.org, by 3.00 p.m. on Wednesday, 18 September 2024, so that the final list of participants is updated accordingly.

Should changes be required after issuance of the provisional list of participants, delegations are requested to inform Protocol in writing to GC-Registration.Contact-Point@iaea.org, by 3.00 p.m. on Wednesday, 18 September 2024, so that the final list of participants is updated accordingly.

Seating Arrangements in the Plenary

Member States are kindly advised that seating arrangements will start with Argentina, as the Member State chairing the Board of Governors.

In the Plenary Hall, six seats will be allocated to each Member State.

Access to and Submission of Documents

In line with the Agency’s environmentally friendly and paper-smart concept for the distribution of documents, General Conference documentation will be available electronically at 68th IAEA General Conference | IAEA. Draft resolutions will be available on GovAtom. Delegates are urged to bring a tablet computing device and make full use of this service so as to reduce the costs to the Agency of printing and distributing hard copies of documents. Should the use of electronic versions not be practical or possible, hard copies can be obtained, upon request, at the Documents Counter near the Plenary Hall (M Building, first floor).

Daily summaries of meetings will be made available online. All events will also be displayed on monitors throughout the M and C Buildings.

Delegates wishing to submit draft resolutions or other documents to the Conference during the session are requested to provide the text as early as possible to SEC-PMO.Contact-Point@iaea.org. This will greatly facilitate the conduct of business, particularly in the Committee of the Whole, which normally has to consider and make recommendations on a large number of draft resolutions.

Speakers in the General Debate

As Member States were informed through document GC(68)/INF/1, issued on 22 May 2024, the inscription in the list of speakers took place between 14 and 19 June 2024. A ballot was held on 20 June 2024 to determine the order of speakers among the Member States that had made a request for inscription in the list. Member States requesting inscription in the list after the ballot are being added according to the order in which they make their requests. It should be noted, however, that the practice of giving priority to Ministers participating in the general debate will continue. 

Until the opening of the General Conference session on Monday, 16 September 2024, requests for inscription in the list of speakers in the general debate should be made directly, either personally or in writing, to the Secretariat of the Policy-Making Organs (Ms Beth Wangui Glass, room A2869, ext. 22339, email: B.W.Glass@iaea.org or GC-Speakers-List@iaea.org). As of Monday, 16 September 2024, delegates who have not yet inscribed their names on the list but wish to deliver a statement in the general debate are requested to contact the Speakers’ List Assistants, who will have a desk in the Plenary Hall (M Building, first floor).

Statements in the General Debate

In line with the decision (document GC(60)/DEC/8) adopted by the Conference in 2016 on streamlining the work of the General Conference, delegates are requested to limit their statements to seven minutes.

The general debate usually extends over three days.

As an alternative option for delegations, Member States and observers may wish to send pre-recorded videos of their general debate statements (also limited to seven minutes). These video statements will need to be submitted to the IAEA Secretariat (GC-Statements@iaea.org) by 4 September 2024 at the latest. The Member State representative or Head of Delegation delivering the pre‑recorded video statement will be included in the list of participants under the delegation list of that Member State indicating that he/she delivered a video statement in the general debate.

Detailed procedures and information for the submission of pre-recorded video statements during the general debate will be made available to Member States through a Note by the Secretariat to be published on GovAtom.

Delegates are encouraged to be mindful that many participants rely on interpretation. Speaking at a measured pace will make it possible for interpreters to render the message smoothly and accurately.

To facilitate interpretation and public distribution of statements in the general debate, texts of statements to be delivered should be sent electronically to GC-Statements@iaea.org. The name and rank of the person delivering the statement should be clearly marked on the cover or first page of the statement.

All statements will be made available on the Agency’s website (Speakers and Statements: 68th IAEA General Conference) in PDF and audio-video format as soon as possible after delivery, unless the distribution of a statement is restricted by the Member State concerned. In such cases, this should be clearly marked on the statement. For uploading purposes, statements should be clean versions, free of any handwriting or crossed-out text. It should be noted that only the orally delivered statements will be included in the official records of the General Conference.

Working Languages and Interpretation

The working languages of the General Conference are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, and statements made in any of these languages during the formal meetings of the General Conference will be interpreted simultaneously into the other working languages. Delegates are asked to send to GC-Statements@iaea.org a written text of their statement in advance, in both PDF and Word formats, in one of the working languages.

If delegates wish to make a speech in a language other than one of the working languages, they should, in accordance with Rule 87 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference, themselves arrange for interpretation into one of the working languages and inform the Secretariat as soon as possible, providing an advance copy of their statement in English for the benefit of the interpreters.

Distribution of Printed Material by Delegations during the GC

Delegates may distribute printed material intended for Conference participants in the designated area in the M Building. Delegates may not distribute printed material inside the Plenary Hall. If you have any questions in this regard, please contact Conference Services (GC.Contact-Point@iaea.org).

Pledges of Contributions to the Technical Cooperation Fund for 2025, Payments to the Regular Budget and Other Contributions Related Issues

Following the recommendation by the Board of Governors on 4 June 2024 to the General Conference for approval of a target figure of €98 000 000 for Member States’ contributions to the Technical Cooperation Fund (TCF) for 2025, a circular letter indicating Member States’ individual shares of the target (calculated on the basis of the base rates of assessment applicable for 2025) will be sent to Member States. The Secretariat hopes that this information will facilitate the usual practice of pledging by Member States to the TCF before or during the General Conference.

Member States will appreciate that the pledging process contributes significantly to the effective planning and organization of the technical cooperation cycle and activities for the year ahead. During the upcoming regular session of the Conference, a document will be circulated for the purpose of notifying delegates of the contributions that Member States have pledged. As this document will be updated during the Conference, it would be greatly appreciated if Member States could facilitate the timely preparation of this document by communicating their governments’ pledges as soon as they are in a position to do so. During the session, it will be possible to communicate pledges to the Contributions Unit staff, who will have a desk in the Plenary Hall (M Building, first floor) and will update the status of pledges to the TCF for 2025.

The Contributions Unit staff will also be available in room M0E67 (M Building, ground floor), ext. 21350, to discuss Regular Budget contributions, contributions to the TCF and extrabudgetary contributions, as well as to respond to any questions Member States may have in respect of arrears, payment plans and voting rights. The opening hours of the Contributions Unit office will be from Monday, 16 September 2024 until Thursday, 19 September 2024, from 9.00 a.m. until 6.00 p.m., and on Friday, 20 September 2024, from 9.00 a.m. until close of the Plenary.

Scientific Forum Organized in Conjunction with the Conference

The objective of the Scientific Forum is to stimulate discussion of scientific and technical issues related to the Agency’s activities and of interest to Member States. This year, the Scientific Forum, which takes place from Tuesday, 17 September 2024 to Wednesday, 18 September 2024, will be on the theme “Atoms4Food: Better Agriculture for Better Life”.   The tentative programme is available at (Scientific Forum: 68th IAEA General Conference | IAEA).  All sessions will take place in Board Room D, C Building, fourth floor. Discussions will be conducted in English only.

Interested participants who are not already registered as part of a delegation, should register via the Agency’s InTouch+ registration portal. For virtual participation, a registration link will be made available on the website.

The Scientific Forum will also be streamed live, offering viewers a chance to interact with panellists via the IAEA Conferences and Meetings App.

Treaty Event

The Treaty Event aims to promote universal adherence to the most important multilateral treaties of which the Director General of the IAEA is depositary. In this respect, as was the case in previous years, this event provides an additional opportunity for Member States to deposit their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.

This event will be held on Wednesday, 18 September 2024, from 9.00 a.m. to 9.30 a.m. in Meeting Room M0E68.

For further information concerning the Treaty Event, please contact the Office of Legal Affairs at Depositary@iaea.org.

Technical Cooperation Meetings

Meetings of the representatives of the AFRA, ARASIA, ARCAL and RCA cooperative agreements, as well as of Member States from the Europe region, will be made available once the schedule has been finalized.

Consultations with the representatives of Member States engaged in technical cooperation activities with the Agency will be held prior to the General Conference session. For delegations present in Vienna only during the week of the General Conference, and for specific issues or special problems, meetings will be arranged during that week.

Side Events Organized in Conjunction with the General Conference

A list of side events is available here.  

Exhibitions and Displays

Information on exhibits and displays is available here.

Visits Organized in Conjunction with the General Conference

A list of organized visits and detailed information is available here.

Information Technology Services

IT Service Desk

For the duration of the General Conference, the Agency’s Division of Information Technology will provide an IT Service Desk in room M0E 26, M Building, ground floor, ext. 27152.

External Email and Internet Services

Internet and email services are available in the delegations’ assistance office, M0E23, M Building, ground floor.

Delegates wishing to use their private notebooks, smartphones or tablets with wireless capability will be able to access high speed wireless Internet throughout M and C Buildings by connecting to the free Wi-Fi network “WLAN-GUEST”. Use of the IAEA guest wireless network is subject to the IAEA Guest Wireless Acceptable Use Policy.

Earphones can be plugged into receiver devices available in all Board and Conference Rooms.

Delegation Assistance Office

A secretarial service will be provided to assist Member State delegations with formatting, editing, photocopying, scanning and obtaining hard copies of online documents and Plenary statements. The service will be located in room M0E23, M Building, ground floor.

Live Video Streaming
Plenary sessions and the Scientific Forum will be live streamed under the following link: Live Streaming: 68th IAEA General Conference.

Access to the VIC

Access to the VIC by Temporary Drivers/Vehicles

During the 68th regular session of the General Conference, the cars of Permanent Missions and of Permanent Mission staff registered with the VIC Garage Administration can be parked, as usual, in the VIC.  Permanent Missions are encouraged to use vehicles registered with the VIC for drop-off and pick-up purposes, to the extent possible.

Apart from drivers and cars of Permanent Missions, additional chauffeured cars may be allowed entry to the VIC for drop-off/pick-up for the duration of the Conference. Due to space limitations, access permits for temporary vehicles will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis. Requests for temporary VIC access permits shall be submitted by note verbale via email to the Garage Administration (vicgarageadministration@un.org), copying IAEA Protocol (protocol.contact-point@iaea.org), as soon as possible, and not later than Wednesday, 11 September 2024, 4.00 p.m. Digital VIC access permits will be sent by the VIC Garage Administration via email to the requestors to be printed and displayed when entering the VIC.

Drivers who are not in possession of a valid VIC driver badge shall be registered through the General Conference online registration system as “Support Staff”, with the remark “Driver”. Both temporary VIC access permits and drivers’ badges should be collected in advance, as they will be required when accessing the VIC.

Vehicles accessing the VIC via Gate 2 should not be higher than 2.10 metres.

Access to the VIC by Public Transport

The VIC is located directly on the U1 underground line (red line) at the station “Kaisermühlen — Vienna International Centre”.

A map of the Vienna public transportation system is available here.

Information on VIC sustainable transportation is available here.

Access to the VIC and Facilities for People with Disabilities

Please refer to the VIC Guidebook for People with Disabilities.

For any accessibility related enquiries please contact accessibility@iaea.org.

The conference accessibilty statement (Barrierecheck) can be found here.

Access Between the VIC and the Austria Center Vienna

The Austria Center Vienna (ACV) has limited office space for rent during the week of the General Conference. The connecting door between the VIC's G Building and the ACV will be open from Monday, 16 September 2024 to Friday, 20 September 2024 from 8.00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. Exit from the ACV and access to the VIC will be limited to full yellow, red and grey badge holders. Holders of half-red and half-grey badges (Support staff) will have to exit the ACV via the ACV parking area and enter the VIC through GATE 1.

VIC Commissary

Access to the Commissary is limited to holders of an access card validated for Commissary access. In accordance with the relevant agreement between the Agency and the Republic of Austria, the Heads of Delegation of Member States participating in the General Conference — Austrian nationals and stateless persons resident in Austria excluded — are entitled to Commissary access for the duration of the Conference’s session. Such Commissary access is embedded in conference badges and will need to be activated at the Commissary Information Desk/Service Point. If a Head of Delegation departs before the end of the Conference, Commissary access will be deactivated upon departure and subsequently activated for the duly designated new Head of Delegation upon notification to Protocol in room M0E75, M Building, or by email (GC-Registration.Contact-Point@iaea.org). A badge will be issued to the duly designated new Head of Delegation by the United Nations Pass Office at Gate 1. Any additional questions in this connection should be directed to Protocol (protocol.contact-point@iaea.org).

IAEA Conferences and Meetings App

The IAEA Conferences and Meetings App can be downloaded free-of-charge through the Apple iTunes Store for iPhone and iPad users or through the Google Play Store for those with Android devices.

The app allows participants to:

• Put together their own personalized schedule of events and activities related to the IAEA General Conference, as well as access up to date information about scheduled events;
• Receive updates regarding the speakers’ list for the Plenary and the starting times for sessions of the Plenary and the Committee of the Whole;
• View PowerPoint presentations of those speakers who have permitted their release after the presentation; and
• Access all General Conference documentation open to the public here: (/about/governance/general-conference/gc68/documents).

For assistance related to using the app, please contact GC.Contact-Point@iaea.org (mailto:GC.Contact-Point@iaea.org).

Non-Smoking Policy at the VIC

Smoking in the VIC is restricted to designated smoking shelters at the following locations on level P-3:

 The designated smoking shelter between Towers A and B;

 The designated smoking shelter in front of Tower D; and

  The designated smoking shelter between Towers D and E.

Smoking, including the use of electronic cigarettes, is not permitted in any other area of the VIC, including terraces, the Memorial Plaza and all other open spaces.

Services at the VIC

Information about services at VIC is available here.

Disclaimer

The IAEA has become aware that tickets for IAEA events, such as conferences, meetings and the General Conference, are being offered for sale by commercial entities via their respective websites, whereby these entities are using commercial business‑model packages to solicit the purchase of such tickets. Please note that the IAEA does not charge fees for participation in IAEA events. Eligible participants in IAEA events are accredited by the IAEA directly, subject to the relevant IAEA legal framework. Therefore, the IAEA neither endorses, nor will it be held responsible for, such fraudulent practices. The IAEA recommends that the recipients of such solicitations exercise extreme caution and that they report such activities to local authorities for appropriate action.

Code of Conduct to Prevent Harassment, Including Sexual Harassment, at UN System Events

The IAEA adheres to the Code of Conduct to Prevent Harassment, Including Sexual Harassment, at UN System Events (the Code of Conduct), endorsed by the High-level Committee on Management of the United Nations (UN) system in July 2019.

All UN system events are guided by the highest ethical and professional standards and the IAEA commits to engaging in events at which everyone can participate in an inclusive, respectful and safe environment.

All participants of the 68th regular session of the General Conference are expected to uphold the standards set out in the Code of Conduct.

To report a matter related to harassment, contact the United Nations Security and Safety Service (UNSSS) Security Operations Centre at +43 1 26060 3903/4.

Greening the General Conference

The IAEA General Conference is going green. To demonstrate its commitment to sustainability, the IAEA will organize the conference as a Green Meeting according to the guidelines of the Austrian Ecolabel. This means that the IAEA will keep the ecological impact of the General Conference as low as possible. The VIC is already a workplace that is powered by carbon neutral electricity from 100% renewable sources. There will be a focus on paper-smart documentation, waste reduction and recycling, and environmentally friendly catering.

The IAEA, as the organizer, will contribute to making the General Conference a Green Meeting. Delegates can play a role in this endeavour by choosing environmentally friendly options when planning their participation e.g. choosing environmentally certified accommodation, giving feedback via the IAEA Conference and Meetings App and sorting waste for recycling and returning name badges, among others. Further information about how to effectively contribute to climate protection, both locally and globally, can be found here.

Vienna has an efficient public transport network — buses, trains, trams and underground lines — that covers most of the city. The IAEA encourages participants to make full use of these greener modes of transport. For more information, please refer to the above section on public transport.

Additional information can be found via the following links: Greening the VIC and Greening the Conference

The IAEA General Conference has been officially certifed as a "Green Meeting" - the certificate can be accessed here.

VIC Floor Plans

• Plenary Hall floor plan 
• M Building ground floor plan 
• M Building first floor plan 
• Rotunda Exhibition plan
• A Building Exhibition plan
• B Building Exhibition plan
• VIC overview 
• Delegations’ entry and drop off points