IAEA Technical Assistance and Cooperation Committee
Agenda item 3: Evaluation of Technical Cooperation Activities in 2023
20 November 2023
Statement by Ms Marina Francis, Alternate Resident Representative of Australia to the IAEA
Chair
Let me firstly express our thanks to the Director of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), Mr. Paul Manning, and the OIOS staff for their report.
The regular evaluation of TC activities conducted by the OIOS is vital in ensuring that the TC Programme continues to deliver its intended outcomes.
Chair
Australia will be brief in this statement, by focussing on four key points of the OIOS report which are of particular importance to us.
First, we were pleased to note that the Country-level Evaluations and Audits (CLEAs) completed during 2023 confirmed that the Agency was effectively addressing Member States’ needs, particularly in relation to human health and radiation safety.
Secondly, we were pleased to read that cooperation and knowledge exchange activities administered through the Regional Co-operation Agreement in Latin America and the Caribbean (ARCAL) were deemed to be highly beneficial for several participating Member States.
As an active contributor to, and participant in, the Regional Cooperative Agreement for Asia and the Pacific, we too have observed that regional TC projects have been particularly effective in addressing mutual development needs.
Thirdly, we note that there are opportunities for the Agency to increase the effectiveness and visibility of its work by engaging more systematically with other UN organisations operating in countries benefitting from the TC Program.
We support this finding and believe it to be crucial in ensuring complementarity of activities, reducing duplication, and increasing the sustainability and impact of TC projects.
Our fourth and final point relates to gender mainstreaming within the TC programme.
Chair, we were disappointed to read that gender is not yet adequately mainstreamed into the Agency’s activities, and that the quality of gender analysis has not improved. We call on the Agency to address this as a matter of priority to ensure gender equality and the meaningful participation of women in all aspects of the TC programme.
With these remarks, let me once again thank the Director and the whole OIOS team for their report, and reiterate Australia’s ongoing support for their crucial work. With these comments, we take note of document GOV/2023/52.
Thank you, Chair.