IAEA Board of Governors Meeting
Adoption of the Agenda - Trilateral Statement on Behalf of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States
7 March 2022
Thank you Chair, good morning and thanks to you and your team for your dedication and commitment.
I take the floor on behalf of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Chair,
There are urgent, pressing issues facing this Board meeting – issues which we must address and address in depth over the course of this week.
Australia, the UK and the US have made our position very clear. We believe an agenda item on AUKUS is inappropriate at this time. It is premature given the partners are in the early stages of an open and transparent consultation process.
We have said many times that we are firmly committed to an open and transparent approach with regard to the non-proliferation aspects of Australia’s acquisition of conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines.
Consistent with that commitment, in our statement to the November 2021 Board meeting, we said that when there were developments to report, we would provide updates to the Board under Any Other Business. We will provide the first of those updates at this meeting.
Chair,
I will reassert that Australia, the UK and the US do not support the inclusion of an agenda item on AUKUS. We continue to strongly oppose the proposal for a standing item on this topic - and would be very concerned by any effort to create a de facto standing item. Exploitation of the rules of procedure for political purposes is highly inappropriate.
Chair,
This is not the time for political games. This is a time to work together in support of the important role this institution must play in striving for peace and security. The moment, and the urgent challenges which confront us, demand solidarity, not division.
With that in mind, and despite our sustained objections, we did not block consensus on the adoption of the agenda today.
However, as we indicated in the non-paper we circulated to all states on 4 March, we will not tolerate deliberate abuse of the rules of procedure. Should this damaging pattern continue, we will be forced to work within the rules to prevent it.
We welcome the continued interest of states in our consultation process and look forward to providing an update under Any Other Business.
Thank you, Chair.