IAEA Board of Governors
Agenda Item 6(b): The Safeguards Implementation Report for 2022
6 June 2023
Statement by Mr Jarrod Powell, Alternate Resident Representative of Australia to the IAEA
Australia thanks the Director General for the 2022 Safeguards Implementation Report.
We welcome the IAEA’s continued progress, in cooperation with Member States, on measures to strengthen the effectiveness and improve the efficiency of IAEA safeguards. The SIR again highlights the long-term trend of increasing demands on the Agency to implement effective verification. Australia is proud to support the Agency with capacity building, through initiatives such as COMPASS, and with research and development on the potential safeguards applications of emerging technologies, such as robotics for spent fuel verification.
Chair
We welcome the work done by the Agency in encouraging States to conclude new safeguards agreements or update existing agreements to modern verification standards. We call upon all States that have yet to bring an Additional Protocol into force to do so as soon as possible.
We welcome that, in the reporting period, Cabo Verde and Guinea-Bissau brought Additional Protocols into force.
We note with some concern that 22 states have yet to amend or rescind their original small quantities protocols (SQPs), adversely affecting the Agency’s ability to draw safeguards conclusions.
Chair,
We remain deeply concerned that Russia's unprovoked, unjust and illegal invasion of Ukraine has undermined the essential safeguards work of the IAEA. Australia calls on Russia to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukrainian territory and return control of Ukrainian nuclear sites to the Ukrainian authorities.
Due to Russia’s actions, and in circumstances involving no fault on the part of Ukraine or the IAEA, the IAEA was prevented from conducting some safeguards inspection activities close to active combat zones. We note the IAEA’s evaluation that based on the safeguards relevant information available to it, the Agency does not find indications that would give rise to proliferation concern.
We thank the Secretariat for its technical rigour and professionalism in reporting on these matters.
Chair
We note the SIR should contain enough detail to enable Member States to understand the operation of the Agency’s safeguards system and assess the effectiveness of safeguards implementation.
We also note that the SIR includes a new section on naval nuclear propulsion. We welcome the Agency’s ongoing engagement and consultation with Australia on our acquisition of naval nuclear propulsion technology, in accordance with its legal mandate. We look forward to discussing this further under Agenda Item 6(e).
Finally Chair
We ask that the Safeguards Statement for 2022 and the Background to the Safeguards Statement and Summary be made publicly available.