Statement by Ambassador Abdul Samad Minty, South Africa's Governor on the IAEA Board of Governors at the IAEA Board of Governors Meeting, Vienna, 1 August 2008

AGENDA ITEM 1: NUCLEAR VERIFICATION: THE CONCLUSION OF SAFEGUARDS AGREEMENTS AND OF ADDITIONAL PROTOCOLS

Chairperson,

South Africa welcomes the tabling for consideration the draft safeguards agreement between the Government of India and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as contained in document GOV/2008/30.

South Africa expresses its appreciation to the Indian Foreign Secretary, Mr Shiv Shankar Menon for presenting on behalf of the Government of India a briefing on the draft India-IAEA Safeguards Agreement, held on 18 July 2008 in Vienna.  South Africa also extends its appreciation to the Agency for its briefing on the draft safeguards agreement on 25 July 2008.

South Africa is of the view that these timely briefings were not only informative, but they provided useful background information on the various factors associated with the draft safeguards agreement.  These briefings also demonstrated that our consideration of this matter takes place in the context of the understandings reached between India and the United States of America, as expressed in their joint statement of 18 July 2005.

Chairperson,

It is an opportune time to recall that the Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh, in his address on 9 June 2008 to the International Conference in New Delhi on “Towards a World Free of Nuclear Weapons”, made reference to an Action Plan to eliminate all nuclear weapons, as outlined twenty years ago by the then Indian Prime Minister, Shri Rajiv Gandhi, as well as Rajiv Gandhi’s belief that disarmament, in particular nuclear disarmament, was essential to usher in a safe and non-violent world.  According to Prime Minister Singh, the Rajiv Gandhi Action Plan was a comprehensive exposition of India’s approach towards global disarmament and continuity in India’s thinking in this regard, and he emphasised that the essential features of the Action Plan continue to remain valid.

The South African national liberation movement, and after 1994, Democratic South Africa, have a long and consistent record of commitment to and engagement on the need to eliminate all weapons of mass destruction.

In this context, Board members may recall that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India, the President of Brazil, Mr. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the President of South Africa, Mr. Thabo Mbeki met in Tshwane, South Africa, on 17 October 2007, for the second Summit of the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue Forum. In terms of the Declaration issued at this Summit meeting, the leaders emphasised their commitment to the goal of the complete elimination of nuclear weapons and expressed concern over the lack of progress in the realisation of this goal.

They also emphasised that nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation are mutually reinforcing processes requiring continuous, irreversible progress on both fronts, and reaffirmed, in this regard, that the objective of non-proliferation would be best served by the systematic and progressive elimination of nuclear weapons in a comprehensive, universal, non-discriminatory and verifiable manner. They  further emphasized the necessity to start negotiations on a phased programme for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons with a specified framework of time to eliminate nuclear  weapons,  to prohibit  their  development,   production, acquisition, testing, stockpiling, transfer, use  or  threat  of use, and to provide  for  their  destruction.

Regarding the issue of the application of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, they furthermore strongly emphasized the need for ensuring the supply of safe, sustainable and non-polluting sources of energy to meet the rising global demand for energy, particularly in developing countries.  In this context, they agreed to explore approaches to cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy under appropriate International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. They further agreed that international     civilian nuclear cooperation, under appropriate IAEA safeguards, amongst countries committed to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation objectives, could be enhanced through acceptable forward-looking approaches, consistent with their respective national and international obligations.

They also reiterated the importance of ensuring that any multilateral decisions related to the nuclear fuel cycle do not undermine the inalienable right of States to pursue nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in conformity with their international legal obligations.

Chairperson,

My delegation has on numerous occasions stated that the IAEA is the only internationally recognized competent authority responsible for verifying and assuring compliance with the safeguards agreements concluded with the Agency.

The safeguards agreement before us, between the Government of India and the Agency, is further reinforcing the central role of the Agency in ensuring that activities in the field of atomic energy are applied for peaceful purposes only, and also realises aspects of the IBSA Summit Declaration. 

Furthermore, my delegation regards the Additional Protocol as an important confidence-building measure, which is essential to strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of the safeguards system. In this regard, South Africa looks forward to the early conclusion by India of such an additional protocol to their safeguards agreement with the Agency.

In conclusion Chairperson,

With these comments, and taking into consideration India’s acute economic needs and its commitment to the Agency and thereby its support of the objectives of the Agency’s Statute, South Africa approves the recommended action that the Board authorise the Director General to conclude with the Government of India, and subsequently implement, the draft safeguards agreement before us. 

I thank you

Issued by Department of Foreign Affairs
Private Bag X152
Pretoria
0001

1 August 2008