(As prepared for delivery)
Mr Chairperson, Excellencies,
Last week I travelled to Ukraine for the tenth time, marking two years since the IAEA established its continued presence at the country’s nuclear power plants.
I met with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy with whom I discussed strengthening nuclear safety in Ukraine. We are taking a more proactive stance monitoring Ukraine’s vital electrical substations, which are essential to the safety of its nuclear power plants.
The situation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) remains precarious. Regular explosions, drone attacks, gunfire; repeated interruptions of external power supply, among other challenges, increase the risk of a nuclear accident.
On August 11, a fire ignited inside one of the plant’s cooling towers, which I and my team inspected on the trip. The damage may require the cooling tower to be demolished.
The cooling towers currently are not required as part of the cooling mechanism while all ZNPP’s six reactor units remain in cold shutdown. In line with the Agency’s advice, it is understood that no reactor will be re-started as long as the conflict continues to jeopardize the nuclear safety and security of the plant.
The work of the Agency at this nuclear power plant remains essential to reducing the possibility of a nuclear accident.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, the nuclear power plants at the Khmelnytsky NPP, the South Ukraine NPP and the Rivne NPP continued to produce electricity. However, military attacks continued to compromise grid stability, prompting shutdowns at some of the nuclear power plants during the reporting period.
On my visit to Kyiv, I also agreed with President Zelensky that the IAEA would provide technical support and nuclear safety advice for Ukraine’s plans to purchase equipment for the Khmelnytskyy NPP from the interrupted Bulgarian project in Belene.
I also travelled to Kaliningrad to discuss nuclear safety with senior leadership of relevant Russian departments.
All rotations of Agency staff at all nuclear sites were conducted as planned. A total of 139 missions comprising 144 Agency staff members have been deployed as part of the continued presence at all five nuclear sites in Ukraine.
In May and August, the Agency arranged 11 deliveries of nuclear safety and security equipment to Ukraine. Since the start of the armed conflict, a total of 60 deliveries of equipment worth more than €10 million have been made.
In July, a portable ultrasound system for South Ukraine Hospital marked the first delivery under our medical assistance programme. Approximately €2 million is currently under procurement and an additional €3.5 million is under preparation for the next round.
During the reporting period, and in the framework of our offer to assist in the evaluation and remediation of the consequences of the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, the Agency received the first official request for assistance. It addresses areas of human and animal health, soil and water management, and food safety. The requested needs have been assessed and prioritized, with costs estimated at about €2.7 million.
Additionally, the Agency and Ukraine agreed the priorities for the first phase of the Agency’s support on safety and security of radioactive sources in Ukraine.
The Agency is grateful to all 30 donor states and the European Union for their significant extrabudgetary contributions to support all our Ukraine- related activities and would welcome further support and collaboration for this crucial endeavour.
The IAEA has been monitoring the reported military activities taking place in the vicinity of the Kursk NPP in the Russian Federation. In late August, I visited the Kursk NPP, where the situation is serious. Preventing a nuclear accident during this terrible war is vital, and attacking a nuclear power plant is unacceptable, regardless of where it is located.
The principle of not attacking an NPP under any circumstances, to help ensure nuclear safety and security is absolutely applicable in this situation. The imperative to ensure the physical integrity of a nuclear power plant is valid irrespective of where the plant is situated. I appeal for maximum restraint in order to avoid a nuclear accident with the potential for serious radiological consequences.
Mr Chairperson,
The IAEA’s technical cooperation programme is supporting 150 Member States through more than 1 000 projects, with the main areas of work in 2023 being food and agriculture, health and nutrition, and safety. Contributions to the TC Fund, the main source of funding for the TC programme, are essential to ensure sufficient, assured and predictable resources. The TCF Rate of Attainment, as of 20 August, was 88.1%, representing €84.5 million. I thank Member States and ask that they pay their contributions on time and in full so that we can continue this indispensable work and fulfil our mandate.
Our flagship initiatives are central to the way we assist Member States in achieving their priorities, including in health, energy, development, environmental protection, agriculture and food.
Let me begin with our most recent initiative, Atoms4Food, which I launched last year together with Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization. This initiative helps address the challenges of food safety and security. Many Member States and international partners, including multilateral development banks, have expressed interest in joining and supporting Atoms4Food. The initiative’s roadmap has now been finalised. During a briefing in July we underscored its strategic value, focusing on its four key pillars of engagement, namely awareness raising and stakeholder engagement; research and development; technical cooperation and resource building; and partnership and resource mobilization.
Atoms4Food Better Agriculture for Better Life will be the topic of the upcoming Scientific Forum, which will be held on day two and three of the 68th Regular Session of the General Conference starting next week. The forum will bring together senior experts, high-level officials, and ministers from around the world to highlight the role of nuclear science in addressing challenges in agriculture and food. The Scientific Forum will offer an opportunity to reinforce our collective commitment to applying innovative and proven solutions to combating hunger, improving food safety, and ensuring the agricultural sector is able to adapt to climate change while also reducing its own environmental footprint.
In June 2024, Rays of Hope welcomed three new Anchor Centres in Argentina, Slovenia, and South Africa, bringing the total to nine, three of them in Africa; three in Asia Pacific, one in Latin America and two in Europe.
In line with our ongoing efforts under Rays of Hope to strengthen global cancer care, the upcoming International Conference on Hybrid Imaging (IPET) will be held at the IAEA’s headquarters in October, covering medical imaging techniques and emerging applications in cancer care.
Under NUTEC Plastics, we are witnessing significant global engagement, with 86 Member States participating in microplastic monitoring, and 39 in plastic recycling, four of which are progressing towards establishing pilot-scale plants. The Global Marine Monitoring Network continues to grow with 99 Member States now benefiting from capacity building efforts or participating as partners for research and development activities.
The recent inauguration of the IAEA NUTEC Reference Laboratory and the development of harmonized protocols for marine monitoring reflect our commitment to addressing plastic pollution on a global scale.
Our ongoing collaborations, including initiatives in Antarctica and partnerships with leading environmental institutions, underscore the IAEA’s pivotal role in combating this pressing global challenge.
Collaboration continues under the IAEA’s Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action (ZODIAC) with 128 ZODIAC National Laboratories having been designated. From May to August, fellows from Botswana and Thailand completed a Group Fellowship on Whole Genome Sequencing in Morocco.
The First Coordination Meeting of the Global Water Analysis Laboratory (GloWAL) Network took place in June 2024, bringing together key stakeholders from Member States and international organizations. The meeting focused on strengthening global collaboration in water analysis and enhancing the capacity of laboratories to address pressing water challenges.
Preparations are progressing for the Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Science, Technology and Applications and the Technical Cooperation Programme co-chaired by Finland and Ghana. It will take place here in Vienna on 26 to 28 November. I look forward to seeing many ministers in Vienna.
Many of our initiatives and much of our assistance to Member States relies on our unique laboratories. Under the ReNuAL2 project, the modernization of the IAEA Nuclear Applications Laboratories in Seibersdorf is progressing towards completion by the end of this year. We expect the laboratories to be fully operational in 2025.
Meanwhile here at headquarters, preparations for the 68th regular session of the General Conference taking place from 16th to the 20th of this month are well underway, with 102 GC side events planned by both the Agency and Member States. On the first day of the GC, I will receive instruments of adherence to treaties for which I, as Director General, am depositary.
Mr Chairperson,
The Secretariat has continued to engage Australia and Brazil on safeguards-relevant aspects related to their respective naval nuclear propulsion programmes. I will continue to keep the Board and Member States informed on relevant developments.
Regarding the issue of Iran’s nuclear programme, you have before you my latest report on Verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015). You will note Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched up to 20% and up to 60% continues to increase, and that Iran has expanded the number of cascades it is using to enrich UF6. It has been more than three and a half years since Iran stopped implementing its nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA, including provisionally applying its Additional Protocol and therefore it is also over three and a half years since the Agency was able to conduct complementary access in Iran. Consequently, the Agency has lost continuity of knowledge in relation to the production and inventory of centrifuges, rotors and bellows, heavy water and uranium ore concentrate.
You also have before you my report on the NPT Safeguards Agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran. There has been no progress in resolving the outstanding safeguards issues. Iran says it has declared all nuclear material, activities and locations required under its NPT Safeguards Agreement. However, this statement is inconsistent with the Agency’s findings of uranium particles of anthropogenic origin at undeclared locations in Iran. The Agency needs to know the current location(s) of the nuclear material and/or of contaminated equipment involved.
Iran still is not implementing modified Code 3.1, which is a legal obligation for Iran, having stated it had suspended such implementation.
These outstanding safeguards issues stem from Iran’s obligations under its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and need to be resolved for the Agency to be able to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful.
There has been no progress in the past 15 months towards implementing the Joint Statement of 4 March 2023. In the context of Iran’s agreement that the Joint Statement continues to provide a framework for cooperation with the Agency and for addressing the outstanding safeguards issues, I call upon Iran to implement the Joint Statement through serious engagement with the Agency’s concrete proposals.
After the elections in Iran, I corresponded with President Pezeshkian, indicating my disposition to meet him in Tehran to re-launch the dialogue and cooperation between the Agency and Iran. He agreed to meet with me at an appropriate juncture. I encourage Iran to facilitate such a meeting in the not-too-distant future so that we can establish a constructive dialogue that leads swiftly to real results.
Mr Chairperson,
As you are aware, I have made it a priority to strengthen the legal framework for safeguards. Since the last Board meeting in June, Bolivia has rescinded its original Small Quantities Protocol. An additional protocol was signed for Nauru. The number of States with safeguards agreements in force remains 190, and 142 of these States have additional protocols in force. I call upon the remaining four States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons without comprehensive safeguards agreements to bring such agreements into force without delay. I also encourage States that have not yet concluded additional protocols to do so as soon as possible, and I reiterate my call for States with SQPs based on the original standard text to amend or rescind them as soon as possible.
Since my report to the Board and General Conference in August last year we have continued to monitor the DPRK nuclear programme. Since October 2023, the Agency has observed water outflows from the cooling water system of the light water reactor (LWR) at Yongbyon. These observations are consistent with an ongoing commissioning process.
The Agency has also observed indications consistent with the operation of the 5MW(e) reactor and the reported centrifuge enrichment facility at Yongbyon. Since my Report, the 5MW(e) reactor has shut down. The shutdown period has now lasted approximately 3 weeks. This is consistent with an indication that the reactor operating cycle has ended and that the reactor may then be refueled, a process which requires at least 6 weeks. We are continuing to monitor the reactor closely.
In 2024, a new annex to the main building in the Kangson Complex was built, expanding the available floorspace.
The continuation and further development of the DPRK’s nuclear programme, including the ongoing commissioning of the LWR, is a clear violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and is deeply regrettable. I call upon the DPRK to comply fully with its obligations under relevant UN Security Council resolutions, to cooperate promptly with the Agency in the full and effective implementation of its NPT Safeguards Agreement and to resolve all outstanding issues, especially those that have arisen during the absence of Agency inspectors from the country. The Agency continues to maintain its enhanced readiness to play its essential role in verifying the DPRK’s nuclear programme.
The nuclear non-proliferation regime requires our constant efforts and determination to make sure that legitimate nuclear activities are carried out in a peaceful manner. In this spirit, I met President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus in March and agreed a new engagement between the Syrian Arab Republic and the Agency. As a result of those consultations, the Agency and Syria conducted technical discussions and Syria has allowed the Agency to conduct visits to relevant locations to take environmental samples.
I welcome Syria’s renewed engagement with the Agency in relation to the unresolved safeguards issues. I will report to the Board the Agency’s findings from all of the visits once the results from the environmental samples taken by the Agency have been analyzed, assessed and discussed with Syria.
As my report on the Application of IAEA Safeguards in the Middle East shows, there remain long-standing and fundamental differences of views among countries of the region with regard to the application of comprehensive Agency safeguards to all nuclear activities in the Middle East. It has therefore not been possible to make further progress in fulfilling our mandate from the General Conference in this area. I will continue consultations.
Mr Chairperson,
The IAEA continues to provide public updates on the release of the ALPS-treated water at the Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Power Station, which began a little more than a year ago. IAEA experts at the Agency’s on-site office have sampled and independently analyzed the treated water. Following completion of the discharge of the eighth batch last month, the Agency has confirmed that the tritium concentration of the water released so far has been far below Japan’s operational limit and in line with international safety standards.
Meanwhile, a team of IAEA and external experts concluded that the work to date by the Minister of the Environment of Japan on the approach to be taken for the managed recycling and final disposal of removed soil arising from decontamination of land in Fukushima Prefecture outside the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station was consistent with IAEA Safety Standards. The final report summarising the team’s observations and conclusions is being prepared and will be delivered to the Ministry.
Before the Board are two regular reports: the report on Nuclear and Radiation Safety and the Nuclear Security Report, which provide detailed updates on our work in these areas.
In August the IAEA, in cooperation with the Government of China, organised the School of Radiation Emergency Management at the Capacity Building Centre in Emergency Preparedness and Response for Member States in Asia and the Pacific. The School for the first time included virtual reality sessions to simulate responses to an emergency triggered by a radiation dispersal device during a major public event. The techniques and sessions developed in this School will allow the IAEA to offer training on the application of new technologies and state-of-the-art tools to its Member States.
The Nuclear Security Training and Demonstration Centre is a significant asset to the IAEA and Member States and I would like to thank the 17 donors, including France and Sweden who joined the group this July.
Nuclear security remains a top priority for Member States. This was evident in 2 000 participants from 142 countries and 16 organizations that attended the International Conference on Nuclear Security (ICONS), in Vienna on 20-24 May.
Mr Chairperson,
The global momentum behind nuclear energy as a crucial factor in the transition to net-zero carbon emissions continues at pace. The IAEA has a unique and significant role in assisting Member States in turning ambition to real progress.
After convening the first ever Nuclear Energy Summit in March, the IAEA began to participate in the process towards this year’s meeting of the Group of 20 under the Presidency of Brazil. This work will culminate in October with the release of the report, Climate Change and Nuclear Power 2024: Financing Nuclear Energy in Low Carbon Transitions.
Meanwhile, preparations are in progress for the 29th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP29, to be held in November in Baku, Azerbaijan. Following the success of COP28 in Dubai, where a global consensus emerged on the need to accelerate the deployment of nuclear power, the IAEA will again host a nuclear-themed pavilion to engage with the global climate community on the benefits of nuclear energy at the world’s premier gathering on climate change.
The International Conference on Small Modular Reactors and their Applications will take place on 21 to 25 October. This first IAEA conference on SMRs will bring together national authorities, regulators, SMR vendors, end-users, the supply chain and international organizations committed to accelerating development and deployment of safe and secure SMRs.
The IAEA is playing an important role in the safe and timely deployment of this highly sought after technology through its Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative (NHSI). The regulatory and industry tracks have achieved considerable progress towards harmonization and standardization of regulatory and industrial approaches. Just prior to the opening of the SMR conference, the Agency will host the third plenary meeting of NHSI to report successes and discuss future steps of the initiative, including proposals for a second phase.
To address the need for greater preparedness and understanding of SMR deployment, the Agency is launching a series of Schools with a comprehensive curriculum providing information on generic SMR attributes, technologies, as well as legal, regulatory, and operational considerations.
One of the benefits of SMRs is their versatility. They are being considered for a variety of uses, including to serve smaller electricity grids in developing countries, to provide power for energy hungry data centres, and even to propel commercial ships.
In terms of meeting the low-carbon energy needs of nations, large NPPS will continue to be the dominant technology. Today, 415 nuclear power reactors operating in 31 countries make up more than 374 gigawatts of installed capacity, providing almost 10 per cent of the world’s total electricity and a quarter of its low-carbon supply. Another 61 reactors totalling almost 64 gigawatts are under construction in 15 countries, three of which are newcomers.
Two-thirds of the global reactor fleet is older than 30 years. Some of these will have their operating lives extended while others will be decommissioned. In June, the IAEA launched the second cycle of its Global Status of Decommissioning Project. We encourage Member States actively to participate in this project gathering essential data for analysis to better understand the key trends in decommissioning, including the use of AI, robotics and digital twins. This knowledge is crucial in supporting the sustainability of the industry and our progress towards a circular economy.
To ensure the availability of fuel, the Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Bank in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan represents a mechanism of last resort, ready to supply LEU to any qualifying Member State upon request.
In June, the IAEA carried out the second campaign of recertification of thirty-six 30B cylinders stored there, successfully demonstrating that the cylinders filled with LEU can be certified for transport without decanting them.
Mr Chairperson,
Recent developments have significantly bolstered confidence in the prospects of deploying fusion energy sooner than previously anticipated. The emergence of new players and increased investments are rapidly transforming the fusion sector. Coordinated and collaborative efforts among all relevant stakeholders will be needed to accelerate progress and overcome important challenges.
In this context, as announced at the 2023 IAEA Fusion Energy Conference in London, I am establishing the World Fusion Energy Group (WFEG). It will be an inclusive platform through which to bring together the public and private sectors, industry, academia and civil society to accelerate the fusion energy journey from research and development to demonstration and ultimately to deployment. The WFEG will foster global cooperation, enhance the effectiveness of research and development activities, identify and address existing technological and engineering gaps, and encourage discussions on establishing effective fusion regulations, among other crucial topics. The IAEA, together with the Government of Italy, is organizing a ministerial meeting of the WFEG on 6 November in Rome.
Mr Chairperson,
The nuclear field is crucial to supporting the goals of all our Member States, whether in energy, food and agriculture, or health, and the most important factor to its success are its people. That includes women, who make up a large pool of talent. Reducing barriers still keeping many women from entering the sector and advancing to its top ranks benefits everyone.
The latest application cycle of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme (MSCFP)—the IAEA’s flagship programme to bring more women into the nuclear field—is now open. Interested women studying nuclear-related subjects at the master’s degree level are encouraged to apply by 30 September. Since its launch, 560 women from more than 120 countries have been awarded the fellowship. To grow this important network of talented women, I rely on your continued support of this important initiative.
At the IAEA Secretariat, we are almost at gender parity. Among those working in Professional and higher categories, 48% are now women, compared to less than 30% at the start of my tenure in late 2019 when I set us the ambitious goal of equal representation of men and women by 2025.
I am confident you will join me in appreciating the work of these men and women who, through the IAEA’s unique mandate and in partnership with its Member States, are making a real difference across the world.