GC(42)/OR.1 30 October 1998 GENERAL Distr. International Atomic Energy Agency GENERAL CONFERENCE Original: ENGLISH FORTY-SECOND (1998) REGULAR SESSION RECORD OF THE FIRST PLENARY MEETING Held at the Austria Center Vienna on Monday, 21 September 1998, at 10.20 a.m. Temporary President: Mr. NIEWODNICZANSKI (Poland) President: Ms. LAJOUS VARGAS (Mexico) CONTENTS Item of the provisional Paragraphs agenda* Opening of the session 1-8 1 Election of officers and appointment of the General Committee 9-21 2 Applications for membership of the Agency 22-28 3 Message from the Secretary-General of the United Nations 29 4 Statement by the Director General 30-85 6 Contributions to the Technical Co-operation Fund for 1999 86 7 General debate and Annual Report for 1997 87 - 144 Statements by the delegates of: Austria 91 - 102 Japan 103-112 United States of America 113-132 Republic of Korea 133 -144 Requests for the restoration of voting rights 145 -146 [*] GC(42)/2, Corr.1 and Add.1-2. The composition of delegations attending the session is given in document GC(42)/INF/13/Revs 1-3. 98-03442 (XXXVIII) For reasons of economy, this document has been printed in a limited number. Delegates are kindly requested to bring their own copies of documents to meetings. GC(42)/OR.1 page 2 Abbreviations used in this record Agreed Framework Agreed Framework between the United States of America and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ARCAL Regional Co-operation Agreement for the Promotion of Nuclear Science and Technology in Latin America and the Caribbean Chemical Weapons Convention Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction CTBT Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-BanTreaty CTBTO Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization DECADES Databases and Methodologies for Comparative Assessment of Different Energy Sources for Electricity Generation DPRK Democratic People's Republic of Korea FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations GRULAC Latin American and Caribbean Group KEDO Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization MEL Marine Environment Laboratory MOX Mixed oxide NPT Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons NPT Review and Extension Conference Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferationof Nuclear Weapons OSART Operational Safety Review Team Pelindaba Treaty African Nuclear-Weapon-FreeZone Treaty R&D Research and development RBMK High-power channel-type reactor (Soviet Union) RCA Regional Co-operative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology (for Asia and the Pacific) SIT Sterile insect technique START Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms TCF Technical Co-operation Fund Tlatelolco Treaty Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean Trilateral Initiative Trilateral Initiative launched by the Minister of the Russian Federation for Atomic Energy, the Secretary of Energy of the United States and the Agency's Director General on 17 September 1996 to consider practical measures for the application of IAEA verification to fissile material originating from nuclear weapons UNSCOM United Nations Special Commission GC(42)/OR.1 page 3 OPENING OF THE SESSION 1. The TEMPORARY PRESIDENT declared open the forty-second regular session of the General Conference. 2. In accordance with Rule 48 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference, he invited delegates to observe one minute of silence dedicated to prayer or meditation. All present rose and stood in silence for one minute. 3. The TEMPORARY PRESIDENT expressed his gratitude for the support and co-operation extended to him during the forty-first session of the General Conference, a session that had marked important milestones not just for the Agency, but also for the entire world. Several important multilateral legal instruments forming a solid foundation for the peaceful uses of atomic energy worldwide and for the safe development of nuclear power had been opened for signature. 4. Various new measures and agreements signed with the Agency had rendered safeguards, the physical protection of nuclear materials and the global nuclear safety system more effective and credible. The nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan, which had led to widespread expressions of condemnation, regret and concern, had revealed an urgent need for universal adherence to the NPT and to the CTBT. 5. Concern about the safety of nuclear installations had stimulated research and the application of advanced technologies in that field. The Agency's role in supporting that process could not be overestimated. He personally believed that, once sufficient financial resources were provided by Member States, the Agency's competence should be further exploited in efforts to achieve a nuclear-safe world. The Agency had continued to promote global safety initiatives and had made significant progress in developing a safety culture. Nevertheless, there were still areas requiring further efforts - the safe transport of radioactive waste being one of them. 6. The final years of the nineteenth century had brought a series of discoveries that could be regarded as the first observations and experimental results in nuclear research. One hundred years ago, in 1898, Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie had separated polonium and radium. That discovery and the subsequent research performed by the couple and by Marie Curie after the death of her husband had been enormously significant to the further development of nuclear sciences. Some nuclear techniques, such as radiotherapy and the use of radioisotopes in medicine, would not have developed to the present level without the pioneering work done 100 years previously. 7. The Director General and the entire Secretariat deserved congratulations for their contribution to the Agency's activities over the past year, and their success in enabling the Agency to handle a growing number of programmes in spite of the lack of real growth in the budget. Some of the new challenges, such as efforts to protect nuclear materials and radioactive sources from illegal use and illicit trafficking, depended on additional funds GC(42)/OR.1 page 4 provided through the Regular Budget or extrabudgetary support from Member States. He hoped that all Member States would co-operate with the Secretariat to find a solution to the Agency's financial problems. Under the new Director General's leadership, a management reform process was already under way. 8. He wished the Director General and the Secretariat continuing success in their work and hoped that the Conference would have a fruitful session. A number of issues unresolved from the forty-first session would require further consideration. He hoped that the willingness to make progress demonstrated by delegates a year ago would continue in the coming week. ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND APPOINTMENT OF THE GENERAL COMMITTEE 9. The TEMPORARY PRESIDENT invited nominations for the office of President of the Conference. 10. Mr. TRUJILLO GARCIA (Colombia), speaking on behalf of GRULAC, proposed Ms. Lajous Vargas (Mexico), whose diplomatic experience, leadership and negotiating abilities would ensure the smooth running of the General Conference. 11. Ms. Lajous Vargas (Mexico) was elected President by acclamation. 12. The TEMPORARY PRESIDENT, speaking on his own behalf and on behalf of all the delegates, congratulated Ms. Lajous Vargas on her election and wished her success in her task. Ms. Lajous Vargas (Mexico) took the Chair. 13. The PRESIDENT said it was an honour to preside over the forty-second regular session of the General Conference. She thanked delegations for conferring that honour on her country and extended special thanks to the members of GRULAC for supporting her country's candidacy. She also thanked Mr. Niewodniczanski, the outgoing President, for his work at the forty-first regular session. 14. Mexico had a long diplomatic tradition in the field of disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation and in promoting the peaceful applications of atomic energy. Mexicans had made exceptional contributions in that field - Alfonso Garcia Robles, for example, had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1982. 15. Mexico's commitment was shared by other countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The Tlatelolco Treaty, whose adoption had been promoted by Alfonso Garcia Robles, among others, had been in place since 1967 as a regional legal instrument to promote the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. All countries of the region had signed it and it had served as the model for similar agreements in other geographical areas. The region also had an instrument - ARCAL - that provided a framework for regional technical co-operation projects in the nuclear field. GC(42)/OR.1 page 5 16. The coming week would be one of intensive work in a wide range of areas. The main lines of the Agency's activities for the coming year would be set down and the use of nuclear energy for development, technical co-operation, nuclear safety and safeguards would all be considered. She invited delegations to work with her to ensure the success of the Conference's deliberations. 17. As the first woman to preside over the General Conference, she would do her best to fulfil the responsibilities entrusted to her. She hoped that her term as President of the General Conference would serve as an inspiration to all women working in the Agency. 18. Turning to the election of officers and the appointment of the General Committee, she recalled that under Rules 34 and 40 of its Rules of Procedure, the Conference had to elect eight Vice-Presidents, the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole and five additional members of the General Committee, resulting with herself as Chairman in a Committee of 15. Since the proposed Chairman of the Committee of the Whole was from the area of South East Asia and the Pacific, which customarily had only one representative on the General Committee, it would be necessary to suspend Rules 34 and 40 in order to have seven Vice-Presidents and six additional members in a committee of 15.