The IAEA General Conference adopted today a resolution that emphasizes the importance of physical protection of nuclear material in preventing its illicit use and the sabotage of nuclear facilities and nuclear materials.
"The tragic terrorist attacks on the United States were a wake up call to us all," said Mohamed ElBaradei, IAEA Director General. "We can not be complacent. We have to and will increase our efforts on all fronts - from combating illicit trafficking to ensuring the protection of nuclear materials - from nuclear installation design to withstand attacks to improving how we respond to nuclear emergencies."
"Unanimously, Member States at this General Conference called on the Agency to embark on a thorough review of its programmes," he said, "to see what we can do to enhance security of nuclear material and facilities."
"Of course, this is likely to require significant extra resources," Mr. ElBaradei said. "I am confident that IAEA Member States will rise to the challenge."
In response to the resolution, IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said the Agency will be looking at ways to increase its information, advisory and training functions to help Member States to ensure in their countries that:
- nuclear regulatory infrastructure is in place;
- nuclear material, other radioactive materials and facilities are properly protected against theft and sabotage;
- the detection measures and equipment at borders and elsewhere are effective in combating illicit trafficking;
- plans are in place to respond effectively to such events; and
- issues regarding nuclear installation safety are addressed.
"In any case, we need to keep these risks in perspective. People with evil intent can do great harm to civilization and the targets reach across all areas of modern society. We can’t build fortresses or become police States," Mr. ElBaradei said. "Nuclear, like any other technology we benefit from, has its vulnerabilities and no absolute guarantees exist. But we should not lose sight that nuclear power plants are among the most secure and robust industrial facilities in the world."