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Director General’s Statement at High-level Dialogue on Nuclear Security

Oslo, Norway
Yukiya Amano

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano. (Photo: D. Calma/IAEA)

(As prepared for delivery) 

Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen.

I am very pleased to be back in Oslo and to visit the Norwegian Nobel Institute.

I have happy memories of coming to Oslo in December 2005 to accept the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the International Atomic Energy Agency. I was then Chairman of the IAEA Board of Governors and Ambassador of Japan.

Three years ago, I spoke – in my current capacity – at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies about the work of the Agency in non-proliferation and other areas.

I am delighted to see my good friend, former Minister Idrissov, here today. We have worked together closely on the establishment of an IAEA Low Enriched Uranium Bank in Kazakhstan. I will tell you something about that later.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The IAEA is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Norway was a founding member in 1957, when our Statute came into force.

In the public mind, the IAEA is associated primarily with our work to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

But, in fact, our work covers almost everything to do with nuclear science and technology, including making it available to developing countries.

Nuclear technology plays a much bigger role in our daily lives than most people realise.

From the microchips and battery in your smartphone, to the tyres on your car and the electrical cables in the walls and floors of your home – items such as these are routinely treated with radiation.

Radiation technology helps to prevent food from spoiling and can reveal otherwise invisible cracks in the wings of aircraft. 

And, of course, everyone is aware of the key role that nuclear technology plays in the diagnosis and treatment of major diseases.

Needless to say, it is essential that nuclear and other radioactive materials should be used safely and securely. They must not be allowed to fall into the hands of terrorists or other criminals. This brings me to our main subject today – nuclear security.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Nuclear security has been part of the IAEA’s work for decades. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, Member States asked us to step up our activities in this area and our work has grown steadily.

We help countries to ensure that nuclear and other radioactive materials do not fall into the wrong hands.

The main concern is that terrorists could obtain radioactive material and use it, together with conventional explosives, to make a so-called dirty bomb. If one of these was detonated in a major city, it could cause serious damage, loss of life and mass panic.

Nuclear security is the responsibility of individual countries. However, governments have recognised that international cooperation is essential.

Why? Because terrorists and criminals will try to exploit any vulnerability in the global nuclear security system. Any country, in any part of the world, could find itself used as a transit point. And any country could become the target of an attack.

I attended the four Nuclear Security Summits that took place between 2010 and 2016. The process was launched on the initiative of President Obama, who hosted the first and last Summits in Washington. I took part as an observer on behalf of the IAEA.

The Summits made a valuable contribution by focusing international attention on this issue at the highest political level. The leaders recognised the IAEA as the global platform for strengthening nuclear security. This gave considerable impetus to our work.

The IAEA has a unique role to play. We bring together 168 Member States, to which we offer concrete expert assistance and general nuclear security guidance.

We have held two ministerial conferences, at which Ministers reaffirmed their support for our central role in nuclear security.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

So what does the IAEA actually do?

Our main role in nuclear security is to provide practical assistance, expert advice, equipment, and training to minimize the risk of nuclear and other radioactive material being used in a malicious way.

We have trained more than 10,000 police, border guards and other officials in detecting and preventing the smuggling of nuclear and other radioactive materials. We have given countries thousands of instruments for detecting such material.

We provided radiation detection equipment and other assistance at major sporting events, such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro last year.

We offer expert missions to help countries put effective nuclear security plans in place and improve physical protection at facilities at which nuclear material is held.

Computer security is an important aspect of nuclear security as reliance on digital systems grows. We hosted an international conference on this in 2015, the biggest in this field. Strengthening computer security capabilities at the State and facility level, to guard against cyber threats that could adversely affect nuclear security, remains a high priority for the Agency and for Member States.

We operate a unique global database which has registered around 3,000 incidents of trafficking, thefts, losses and other unauthorized activities involving nuclear and other radioactive material.

Most of these incidents were fairly minor. But there are enough cases every year involving unauthorized possession of nuclear material or radioactive sources, or attempts to sell or use such material, to cause concern.

The IAEA also runs an Incident and Emergency Centre in Vienna, which is the global centre for coordinating the international response to incidents related to nuclear and radiological safety or security. It is operational 24/7 and can provide expert advice and assistance through our Response and Assistance Network.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In my travel as IAEA Director General, I have seen many positive developments in the nuclear security area. I have visited impressive nuclear security facilities in countries as diverse as Belarus, China, Pakistan and the United States.

There have also been welcome improvements in the international legal framework.

Last year, an instrument known as the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material finally entered into force, nearly 11 years after the Amendment was adopted. We had very actively encouraged countries to ratify the Amendment.

The original Convention covers the physical protection of nuclear material in international transport. The Amendment expands its coverage to include the protection of nuclear material in domestic use, storage and transport, and the protection of nuclear facilities against acts of sabotage.

It requires countries to establish appropriate physical protection regimes for nuclear material. They also take on new obligations to exchange information on sabotage and credible threats of sabotage.

Now that this instrument is in place, it must be fully implemented. We have brought together senior officials from countries concerned to make sure this happens.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I understand that one of your sessions will look at the “nuclear energy–security nexus.” So let me say a few words about nuclear power, which is the best known peaceful application of nuclear technology. 

At present, 30 countries are using nuclear power. Around 30 other countries are interested in introducing it. Global use of nuclear power continues to grow, despite the Fukushima Daiichi accident six years ago.

We are seeing two interesting developments. First, the centre of expansion in nuclear power has shifted from Europe and North America to Asia. Second, developing countries are embarking on nuclear power.

This should not really come as a surprise. Populous countries such China and India need huge amounts of electricity and also want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Nuclear power helps with both.

Likewise, developing countries, especially in Africa, desperately need electricity if they are to achieve sustainable development. When I took up office as Director General in 2009, I said that nuclear power should not be the preserve of developed countries and that developing countries should also have access to it.

I sometimes hear concerns expressed about safety and security as more countries introduce nuclear power. In my experience, where countries have a firm commitment to safety and security and work with us, these issues can be effectively addressed. Ultimately, there is no room for complacency. Nuclear accidents can happen anywhere, even in highly developed countries with mature nuclear power programmes. A strong safety culture and a robust and independent nuclear regulator are the key to nuclear safety.

As for security, terrorists will attack the weak points in a security chain. So, the most dangerous country from the nuclear security perspective – and the most vulnerable – is the country that does not recognize the risk of nuclear terrorism and take action against it.

For countries interested in introducing nuclear power, the IAEA has produced a document called Milestones in the Development of a National Infrastructure for Nuclear Power. This sets out a step-by-step process which they are advised to follow over a period of many years.

Considerable emphasis is placed in the Milestones approach on the need to have effective security arrangements in place to protect facilities, as well as nuclear and other radioactive material.

Security is also an important part of the assistance which we provide to countries whose focus is on non-power applications.

The more countries use nuclear technology, the more they realise that it is in their own vital interests to keep nuclear material secure.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As I mentioned earlier, the IAEA is establishing an LEU Bank in Kazakhstan.

This will serve as a last-resort mechanism to provide confidence to countries that they will be able to obtain LEU for the manufacture of fuel for nuclear power plants in the event of an unforeseen, non-commercial disruption to their supplies.

As you can imagine, this is a very complex project. I am grateful to the Government of Kazakhstan for hosting the LEU Bank.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to say a few words about other aspects of the IAEA’s Atoms for Peace and Development mandate.

We help developing countries to use peaceful nuclear technology safely and securely in order to achieve their development goals.

Nuclear technology enables countries to grow more food, treat cancer, manage water supplies, protect the seas and oceans and respond to climate change – and much more.

The IAEA technical cooperation programme has made a real difference to the lives of millions of people in developing countries.

For example, we help to increase food supplies by developing new varieties of crops such as rice and barley. These are higher-yielding and more resistant to drought and disease. By applying radiation in the laboratory, scientists accelerate the spontaneous mutation process that occurs in nature all the time.

Cancer is reaching epidemic proportions in developing countries.

Many developing countries lack both equipment and the trained medical and technical experts needed to treat cancer effectively. In Africa alone, there are 28 countries which do not have a single radiotherapy machine.

The IAEA is working closely with partners such as the World Health Organization to change that.

Our technical support focuses on radiotherapy, nuclear medicine and imaging technology. We provide education and training for radiotherapists, medical physicists and other health professionals.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

One of the main ways in which the IAEA contributes to international peace and security is through our non-proliferation work. This is our so-called “nuclear watchdog” role.

We implement safeguards in 181 countries, sending nuclear inspectors all over the world to check that States are not secretly developing nuclear weapons. We use advanced technology that enables us to detect even minute particles of nuclear material.

Two years ago, the IAEA played an important part in bringing about a landmark international agreement concerning Iran’s nuclear programme, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The Agency is verifying and monitoring Iran’s implementation of its nuclear-related commitments under that agreement, acting as the eyes and ears of the international community. I am proud of the contribution which the IAEA has made on this issue, which has been high on the international agenda for more than a decade.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Nuclear applications play a significant, often hidden, part in the way we live today. This remarkable technology should be accessible to all countries to help improve the health and well-being of their people, and strengthen their economic competitiveness.

The IAEA’s unique role is to make nuclear technology available and help ensure that it is used with the highest safety and security standards. Safety and security are crucial for all countries, not just those with nuclear power programmes.

With the active practical and moral support of countries such as Norway, the IAEA will continue to help ensure that all countries are able to make the best use of nuclear technology, and to protect nuclear materials against misuse.

Thank you.

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