SECRETARY-GENERAL SALUTES I"A FOR ACHIEVEMENTS, IN MESSAGE TO GENERAL CONFERENCE MARKING FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY
Press Release
SG/SM/6341
SECRETARY-GENERAL SALUTES IAEA FOR ACHIEVEMENTS, IN MESSAGE TO GENERAL CONFERENCE MARKING FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY
19970930 VIENNA, 29 September (UN Information Service) -- Following is the text of the message by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, read here this morning by Pino Arlacchi, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna, to the opening session of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA):I am pleased to send greetings to the forty-first regular session of the General Conference of the IAEA. This session is important for a number of reasons. First, we are marking the IAEA's fortieth anniversary. Over the years its role has become valuable in international efforts aimed at preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and ensuring the safe and peaceful use of nuclear technology for sustainable development. I salute the IAEA for its many achievements.
This session will also mark a change of guard at the helm of the IAEA. I wish to pay tribute to Dr. Hans Blix for his 16 years of outstanding leadership and service in the cause of peace and development. He leaves behind a great legacy. I wish him much happiness, health and success in his new undertakings, and I pledge my full cooperation and support to the new Director-General.
This session will address a long and complex agenda. You will continue coping with the Chernobyl disaster and promoting nuclear safety -- efforts which received a boost last year with the entry into force of the Convention on Nuclear Safety. You will be trying to devise effective measures against illicit trafficking in nuclear materials by criminal elements, who prey on the openness of borders and the transnational movements of goods, finance, information and people that characterize our age.
I am pleased that so many countries have signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and initiated steps towards its ratification. This is a landmark agreement. The Provisional Technical Secretariat of the Preparatory Commission for the CTBT Organization has now been established, at the Vienna International Centre, and is making steady progress towards becoming fully operational.
- 2 - Press Release SG/SM/6341 IAEA/1316 30 September 1997
IAEA safeguards under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons are an integral part of the international regime for non-proliferation and play an indispensable role in ensuring implementation of the Treaty. I, therefore, welcome the adoption, in May of this year, of the model Protocol Additional to Existing Safeguards Agreements between States and the IAEA, which is designed to strengthen the effectiveness and improve the efficiency of the IAEA safeguards system.
I am also pleased to note the successful conclusion of two important diplomatic conferences this month in Vienna. The first led to the adoption of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and the Safety of Waste Management. The second adopted two instruments in the field of nuclear liability. All three are being opened for signature at this General Conference. They greatly enhance our efforts to establish an international legal regime in the nuclear field. I would also like to express appreciation for the IAEA's efforts in implementing resolutions of the Security Council relating to Iraq and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. This work is just one manifestation of the long tradition of close ties between our two organizations.
That peace and development are two sides of the same coin is broadly recognized today. The technical cooperation activities of the IAEA to promote the peaceful uses of atomic energy are a direct contribution to development, helping countries in the critical areas of water, health, nutrition, medicine and food production. Such activities also help with implementation of Agenda 21. As we continue down the "road from Rio", I look forward to the contributions the IAEA is sure to make to discussions on the role of energy in fulfilling the hopes generated by the "Earth Summit" and by the follow-up special session of the General Assembly, held this past June to assess progress made since the Rio Conference.
The fifty-second session of the General Assembly has now begun. With reform and renewal at the top of the agenda, this promises to be one of the most momentous periods of debate and action in United Nations history. We are seeking nothing less than to reshape and retool the Organization for the new global era.
The tasks ahead are numerous, complicated and urgent. I look forward to working with the IAEA in our joint efforts towards international peace, security and development. Please accept my best wishes for a productive and successful session.
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