IAEA Board of Governors Meeting
Statement by Mr Stephen Hills, Alternative Representative of Australia to the IAEA
Agenda Item 4(b): Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Syrian Arab Republic
19 November 2020
Australia once again notes the IAEA’s assessment that a building destroyed at Syria’s Dair Alzour site was very likely a nuclear reactor that Syria should have declared to the Agency.
It is a matter of ongoing concern and we regret that Syria has yet to take steps to address its non-compliance with its safeguards obligations.
We commend the Director General and the Secretariat for their continued efforts to urge Syria to cooperate fully with the Agency.
Australia too urges Syria to address this matter by fully cooperating with the Agency in line with the Resolution adopted by the Board of Governors on 9 June 2011.
Until this occurs, we will continue to draw attention to Syria’s non-compliance and remain firm in our view that this issue should remain on the Board of Governors agenda until it is satisfactorily resolved.