The 80 Parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS) will start a two-week peer review meeting on Monday, 27 March, to review their work under the Convention.
The Seventh Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety will be hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is the Secretariat for the Convention.
The Convention, which entered into force in 1996, requires Parties to maintain a high level of nuclear safety by setting international benchmarks. Its objectives include preventing accidents with radiological consequences and mitigating such consequences should they occur.
Convention Parties have obligations in fields including nuclear installation siting, design, construction and operation, as well as financial and human resources, safety assessment and verification, quality assurance and emergency preparedness.
Parties are obliged to submit reports on their work to comply with the CNS for peer review at meetings held every three years.
The last review meeting was held in 2014. In 2015, CNS Contracting Parties held a Diplomatic Conference at which they unanimously adopted the Vienna Declaration on Nuclear Safety. The Declaration contains principles to guide Parties in the implementation of the CNS objective of preventing accidents and mitigating radiological consequences.
More information about the Convention, including links to national reports from Parties that have made them public, is available here.
The Officers of the Review Meeting will include:
President: Ramzi Jammal, Executive Vice-President and Chief Regulatory Operations Officer, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Vice-President: Georg Schwarz, Deputy Director General, Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate
Vice-President: Geoffrey Emi-Reynolds, Director of the Radiation Protection Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission
Press Opportunities/Web streaming:
Media have the following opportunities to cover the review meeting – these sessions also will be streamed on http://streaming.iaea.org/15389 (The Audio Video Streaming Services are supported on every PC with Silverlight Media Player with sound card and speakers or Apple iOS mobile devices.)
- Opening Plenary Session: Monday, 27 March, 10:00-12:30, Boardroom B, M-Building, Vienna International Centre (VIC), including remarks from IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano and CNS President Jammal.
- Session to finalize and approve Summary Report: Thursday, 6 April, 15:30-17:00, Boardroom B, M-Building.
- News Conference: Friday, 7 April, 14:30 Press Room, M-Building.
Accreditation:
All journalists are requested to inform the IAEA Press Office of their plans to attend. Journalists with permanent credentials to the VIC need no additional credentials. Others should contact Ms. Michelle Gruensteidl for accreditation. Please email press@iaea.org or call [+43-1] 2600-22048 or [+43-1] 2600-21273.