On 9 October 2013, the Resident Representative of Vietnam, H.E. Mr. Nguyen Thiep, deposited his country's instrument of accession to the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management with the IAEA Legal Adviser, Ms. Peri Lynne Johnson.
In her remarks, Ms. Peri Johnson expressed appreciation for the concrete move taken by the Government of Vietnam which will further strengthen the IAEA's mandate to support Member States in the safe management of spent fuel as well as radioactive waste.
Resident Representative Thiep, Chairman of the IAEA Board of Governors in 2013-2014, in his exchange with Legal Adviser, Peri Johnson, emphasized the strong collaboration of his country with the IAEA and the importance of having a complete international legal framework for the first nuclear power plant projects in his country.
With Vietnam's deposit of its instrument of accession there are now 69 Contracting Parties to the Joint Convention.
The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, the first legal instrument to directly address these issues on a global scale, was opened for signature on 29 September 1997. It entered into force on 18 June 2001. The Joint Convention applies to spent fuel and radioactive waste resulting from civilian nuclear reactors and applications and to spent fuel and radioactive waste from military or defence programmes if and when such materials are transferred permanently to and managed exclusively within civilian programmes, or when declared as spent fuel or radioactive waste for the purpose of the Convention by the Contracting Party. The Convention also applies to certain discharges. The Convention also applies to planned and controlled releases into the environment of liquid or gaseous radioactive materials from regulated nuclear facilities during normal operation.