A/45/PV.32 General Assembly

I should like to propose that the list of speakers in the . debate on this item should be closed at 1 p.m. today. It was so decided.

I therefore request those representatives who wish to speak to put their names on the list as soon as possible. I call on Mr. Hans Blix, Director General of the Internationa~ Atomic Energy Agency, to present his report. Mr. BLIX (International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA»: In submitting the annual report of the IAEA to the General Assembly, I should like to begin by commenting on three major topics of relevance to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy: first, the current confrontation in the Middle East; second, conclusions drawn at the recent Review Conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty concerning the safeguards system of the IAEA; and, third, the risk of global warming and the possible responses to it in the field of energy. I shall thereafter discuss the role of the lAEA in the fields of nuclear safety, nuclear waste, transfer of technology and assistance to developing countries, and I shall conclude with some comments on the financing and management of the Agency within the United Nations system. The shock waves of the current confrontation in the Middle East are affecting all countries in the world and all organizations in the United Nations family. To the IAEA, some features in the present situation in the Middle East are of particular relevance. First of all, the c~nfrontation highlights the special and dramatic dangers that arise in a conflict-ridden r6gioB from the presence of weapons of mass destruction. It seems clear that a future, peaceful evolution in this area will require not only broad political accommodatiou but also confidence, creat\!d by verified arms control commi~ants, notably in raspect of nuclear weapons and other means of mass destruction. The rec8a,t study undertaken within the United Nations of the concept of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East provides a valuable analysis of these problems. The IAEA secretariat was pleased to contribute some expertise to that study. One of the central tasks of the IAEA is to verify, through its safeguards activities, that material and installations devoted to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy are used exclusively for such purpqses, and the Agency is itself engaged in promoting the wider use of safeguards in the Middle East. Under resolutions adopted by the General Conference of the IAEA, I have been conSUlting States in the region with a view to applying Agency safeguards to all nuclear installations in the area. What I hav~ found so far is that the deep mutual distrust that has reigned for so long in this region ana the presence of non-safeguarded fissionable material in one State may require special safeguardm approaches which are more intrusive in nature, in order to cree ~ confidence. One might also consider whether, i~ the context of restoring peaeeful relations in the area, programmes of regional nuclear co-operation could be added to the safeguards as an impcrtant factor yielding both economic benefits and mutual (Mr. Bllx. IA£A) transparence. Confidance through control by verification would then be strengthened by confidenco through co-operation. In some other, admittedly more peaceful, regions of the world, such an approach haa been fruitful. A second important feature of the present confrontation is its impact on the world 011 ma~ket. Fossil fuels today provide the world with some 90 per cent of its energy, and oil accounts for more than 40 per cent of f08Sil fuel. More than half the world's oil reserves are in the Middle Bast. This heavy dependence of the world economy on fossil fuel, notably oil from the Middle last, is no novelty. After th~ energy crisia of the mid-1970s, efforts at energy conservation and diversification led, in countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OBeD), to a reduction in reliance on oil for eloctricity generation from 24 per cent to 9 per cent between 1974 and 1986. The amount of oil used for electricity generation was halved, and countries such as France and Sweden now burn hardly any oil to generate electricity. The use of nuclear power contributed significantly to this development. The quastion will inevitably arise again of whether nuclear power should be further relied on, in order to avoid too heavy a dependence on one source of energy and to increase diversity in the global energy mix. The Fourth Review Conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty concluded on 15 September. While it fell short of adopting a declaration, support was strong for the efforts to prevent a spread of nuclear weapons to mo~e countries and for effective ve~ification of the non-military use of nuclear material and installations. There was also strong support for an intensified transfer of technology in the nuclear energy field. The IAEA is the chief multilateral instrument for such transfer of nuclear technology and its safeguards system is relied upon as the prin~ipalmeans of verifying that the non-proliferation pledges made under the NP~, as wall as undar the Latin American Treaty of Tlatelolco and the South Pacific Treaty of Rarotonga, are respected. With adherence by further States to these Treaties snd an expanded use of nuclear material and installations, the safeguards role of the Agency has continuously increased in importance. It is likely to do so also in the future. In a recent statement the Minister for Foreign Affairs of South Africa has indicated that his country was prepared to accede to the NPT within a certain framework and was ready to commence talks with the IAEA on the conclusion of a comprehensive safegua~ds agreement on the country's nuclear facilities. The Agency is ready to begin these discussions. Before highlighting a number of innovative ideas relating to safeguards which were broached at the HPr Review Conference, let me comment briefly on the current operation ef the system. The Safeguards Implementation Report for 1989 was presented to the Board of Governors of the lAEA at its meeting last June. I am pleased to report that, as in p~evious years, the Safeguards Implementation Report concluded that nuclear material under safeguards in 1989 remained in peaceful nuclear activities or was otherwise adequately accounted for. Confidence in the reliability of the Agency's safeguards system was expressed at the NPT Review Conference. At a time when the political climate is favourable to agreements on disarmament and arms control, it is clearly of great importance that the world's first system for on-site inspection should be successful and thereby facilitate acceptance of disarmament and arms control agreements relying' on on-site inspection and verifica~ion. The coverage of IAEA safeguards has continued to increase. As of October 1990 safeguards agreements pursuant to the Non-Proliferation Treaty are in ~orce with 84 of the 137 nOD-nuclear-weapon States P~rties to the Treaty. Fifty-three of these 137 States Parties to the HPT have not yet concluded an agreement with the Agency pursuant to article III of the Treaty. The Agency's secretariat is continuously trying to conclude safeguards agreements with those States. I trust that negotiations that have been taking place with one of these States with significant nuclear installations will be resumed. The system now covers 922 installations, inclUding 183 power reactors, 173 research reactors, 43 fuel fabrication plants, 7 enrichment plants and 5 reprocessing plants, thus encompassing 95 per cent of all nuclear installations outside nuclear-weapon States. A number of improvements have been made in the implementation of safeguards. The serious financial constraints that have accompanied seven consecutive years of zero real growth have made an optimal use of the Agency's resources all the more necessary. Significant savings have been achieved at the Agency end by improved resource utilization through modifications in organization, management and methods. Other savings depend upon the participating States. I have urged - and many members have accepted - a simplified system for the designation of safeguards inspectors, and this allows for some savings. However, ceilings on the number of inspectors and other restrictions placed by some countries on inspector desi9~ations still complicate our work and contribute to costs. In my view, IAEA in.pector. should not be •••n aa national. of partieulsr countri.s but a. the international civil Dervant. they ere. It would grectly h.lp our task if memb.r States could accept the inapec.tor'B United Nations 1a18seB-passer or an IAEA inspector passport without requiring a viaa vhile on assi9ftm8nt. AmoDg the r.commendations mmde at the Fourth NPr Bev!.. Conference regarding lAEA safeguarda 8 I would mention the followingl First, to utili•• ne. coat-effective safeguards technologies and approaches, including randomlaed inspection.I Secondly, to enDuro that adequate safeguards technl~ues are available with respect to r~processlDg and the .torage and u.e of separated plutoniuml Thirdly, to consid.r arrang.m.nt. a. for••••n in the lAEA statute for deposit with the Ag.ncy of any e.ces~ of plutonium and highly enriched uranium over what 1. ne.ded by a member Stat., Fourthly, to study the po.sible Dcope, application and procedure. of ".pecial inspection." for circumstances roquiring the restoration of confidence; Fifthly, to consider the wider appl~cation of .afeguard. under voluntary offer agreements in ~uclear-..apon State. iD the mo.t ecoDomic and practical .ay, utilising a scheme combining full reporting OD civil nuclear activities with, where sppropriate, verificatioD b.sed on randomlzatioDI Sizthly, to offer for v.rification any nucl.ar materiala and installation. that may be tran.f.rred from military u.e to peacefUl Duclear activities in nuclear-••apon States by submitting sueh material &Dd installations to IABA safeguards UDder voluntary offer safeguard. agreements with the IAEA; and Lastly, to improve tho transparedcy of pre.entation to the public of results of our safeguards activities. The safeguards system vas a bold innovation when it was first created some 30 years ago. Today Governments are accustomed to the presence of international inspectors at important national installations and do not see this presence as compromising their sovereignty. Indeed, they have a direct interest in the good functioning of the system and in providing mazlmum co-operation so as to facilitate its operationv It offerm something they cannot bring about by themselves - nemely, the confidence arising from outside impartial verification. For the same reaSODW, Governments have aD interest in continuously updating the system to enable it to meet the new demands that arise through the development of nuclear technologies. Secure financing and increased resources are also needed in the future for a stable foundation and development of the safeguards system. Another major subject of relevance for current consideration of nuclear power is the growing conviction that pre~ent levels of emission of carbon dioxide (C02) into the atmosphere are leading to global warming and must be reduced. The Intergovernmental Panel OD Climate Change (IPCC), which has been set up by the World Meteorogical Organization (NMO) and the United Rations Environment Programme (tnmP), has reported this year that a reduction of CO2 by more than 60 per cent would be needed to stabilize the situation at today's level. For some other gases even more severe reductions would be needed. Even if a much less ambitious global target for reduction of CO2 were to be set, extremalF difficult questions would arise in the field of energy, where most of the CO2 emissions originate. In this context let me mention that, in order to brinq as much objective data as possible to a comparative study of risk and environmental impaet of different ways of generating electricity, the lAEA~ jointly with ten other organizatioDs, is arranginCj an expert:. symposium in Helsinki next spring. The study.· will examine the whole energy cycl.1' fro••lllling to waste disposal. It is hoped that the results of thls II!J1POSiWl IIlght fom part of the input at the 1992 United Nation. Conferellce on BnvirolUMtnt a4 DeveloplOnt.. ~bieh W140ubtedly will be concerned with the CJ1I88tion of global wsrallUJe It might be u••ful if.. for the preparatioD of the Conference.. so.. _chaDl..s vel'e creat.d in which cau"e. of eravll'olllNntal degradation co~14 be ad4r••••d.. including population growth.. indu.trialiaation.. tran.port aDd elllergy - those .ectors wh.re policy choicos must be m.40. Unit.d Nation. organisations with special expertise in these areas could be call.d upon to play a -ere re.pon.ible role in the proparation of th.a8 topic. for the Conference. To tat. the are. of IDteromt to the IAlA.. the .00D.r a dialogue start. batweon the enviroDaentallat constitu.ncies that are now preparing for the 1992 United Nations Conferenco OD Environment and Development and the energy constituencie... the bett.r. Both constituencies need to offer their input. To revert to the question of reduction of carbon dioxids emissions through ..asures in the energy sector, it seems probable that while an international con.ensus may be achievable on efforts to increase efficiency in energy use, agreeaent. on restrictions in the use of energy will be hard to attain as energy is a key factor in economic development. Attention will undoubtedly focus on a greater uee of energy sources that do not add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere: hydropover, D~clear power and renewable sources like photovoltaics and wind power. Tb. renewable commercial sources of energy - hydropower excluded - currently yield le•• than 0.3 per cent of the world's energy and are not expected within the aezt fow decades to be capable of producinq more than 3-5 per cent. Hydropower can be _zpanded in several developing countries but relatively little hydropower remains ~uemp'loited in the industrialized countries and environmental objections are often ~aised against its use. Although significant opposition to nuclear power exists in many countries, it will not go unnoticed, as the search goes on for means of restraininq carbon 4io:1d40 emissions, that nuclear-powered electricity generation is a very subatantial source of carbon-dioxide-free energy and that the potential for an expansion of this source exists. About 17 per cent of the world's electricity is currently generated by nuclear power - a little less than that obtained through hydropover. Were this electricity instead to have been generated by coal, global carbon dioxide emissions would have been about 9 ~er cent greater. A comparison of the carbon dioxide emissions in the United Kingdom and France is also telling. In the United Kingdom where about 70 per cent of the electricity is generated by coal combuatlGn, the carbon dioxide emission is 0.78 kilograms per kilowatt-hour. In Pruce, with more than 70 per cent of tile electricity being or .,lear-generated, the carbon dioxide emission per kilowatt-hour is about one tenth ot the British value. The objection that an expanded use ef nuclear power, alone, is not capable of solving the wor1d'm carbon dioxide dll~mma and therefore should not be encouraged will not, I am confident, stand up when the search for carbon dioxide reductions gets serious. All contributions to this objective will have to be considered. I note that the summit meeting of industrialized States at Houston last July declared: "For countries that make such a choice, nuc!ear energy will continue to be an important contributor to our energy supply and can play a ~ignificant role in reducing the growth of greenhouse gas emissions". The main reasons for public objections to a continued and expanded use of nuclear pOWtr lie in concern about accidents and about the disposal of radioactive waste. Both individually and collectively the members of the lAEA are pursuing efforts further to strengthen eafety in all nuclear activities, including waste disposal. They also promote activities to assess risk more accurately and to analyse the causes and consequences of accidents and damage. Let me make a few comments on th~se activities. A recent endeavour to improve infcrm~tion in the nuclear field is the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES), which has been developed by the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OEeD) and the lAEA. Any incident at a nuclear power station receives much media attention and it is often difficult both for the media people and for the public to judge the seriousness of the event. To promote a better understanding of the significance of unuaual events, incidents and accidents, a seven-level scale has been worked out and is now being used on a trial basis. (Mr. Blix. lAEA) The technical causes and phases of the Chernobyl accident were analysed in detail under the auspices of the lAEA in 1986 and the Agency has since then been continuously engaged in various studies concerning the accident. This year, renewed attention has been drawn to the radiological consequences of the accident through appeals made last spring by the Byeloru&sian, Ukrainian and P.ussian Republics. Many United Nations bodies and specialized agencies have been called upon to provide assistance of various kinds to the affected Republics. Preparations for decisions on assistance are under way. At the request of the Soviet Unior o the IABA and a number of international organizations - such as the rood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Bnvironment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Commission of the European Communities - with the full participation of the affected Republics have organized an international expert assessment of the radiol~gical consequences of the accident and of the protective measures taken. The work of technical missions - corroborating existing data and assessing the current ra4iologica1 situation, individual and collective doses, environmental contamination and clinical health effects and evaluating the protective measures taken - will be completed by the end of this month. An interim report has been submitted to the United Nations to be considered in the context of the United Nations system's response in mitigating the consequences of the accident. The assessment will be concluded by the end of the year and in early 1991 an International Advisory Committee will review the task group reports and prepare a comprehensive report that will be published by the International Atomic Energy Aqency. A very substantial effort is going into this assessment. Over 100 international experts in different fields have visited affected areas ~nd thousands (Mr. Blix. IAlA) of measurements have been taken. The purpose of course is not only to obtain as accurate an assessment as possible but also, when such an assessment is made, to help identify the most appropriate responses. Turning to IABA activities to strengthen nuclear safety I should mention that a conference vill be arranged by the IAEA in September 1991 to discuss the next phase of international co-operation in the field of the safety of nuclear power, including final disposal of waste. After the Chernobyl accident in 1986, an expanded nuclear safety progrftMme was launched in the IPA and many new,activities were embarked upon. It is felt that the time has come not only to assesm what has been accomplished but also to map the road to be taken in the future. Even though ultimate responsibility for nuclear power safety remains vested in the Governments of the countries in which the nuclear activity ls taking place, safety is at the same time considered a question of international concern. In line with this thinking, there has been a sharp increaae in the services of the IAEA in the field of nuclear power safety. Especially after the political changes in East and Central Europe many m~s8ions have been requested to review ,the siting, construction and operation of nuclear plants and to inquire into past incidents. A large project has been set up to look into the safety of the first generation of WHER-440 reactors - with the participation of the Sov.iet Union, the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, BUlgaria, Germany and several other Western countries, the European Communities and the World Association of Nuclear Oparators (WANO). The issue of the disposal of radioactive waste continues to loom in the minds of many people 8S an unsolvea problem. Current problems with such waste and contamination in the military sector probably reinforce these fears. Thfire exiats, however, a very large degree of consensus among government experts as to how radioactive waste - of low, medium and high activity - is to be safely disposed of. This consensus is gradually baing articulated in a new series of lAEA documents called Radioactive Waste Safety Standards Series (RADWASS). I should also mention that, although no case has been found of "dumping" of radioactive waste in developing countries, the IAEA has responded to calls for an instrument excluding such practices. Thus, the 1989 Basel Convention on Tran3boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal has been Bupplftmented by a Code of Practice on the International Transboundary Movement of Radioactive Waste, adopted by consensus last month by the IAEA General Conference. This code affirms the sovereign right of every State to prohibit the movement of such waste into, from or through its territory and requires that transboundary movements should take place in accordance with internationally accepted safety standards, and with prior notification and consent. The General Conference decided to keep the subject under active review, inclUding the desirability of concluding a legally binding instrument under IAEA auspices. Despite their prossing energy needs, most developing countries are not in a position to use the large, complex and costly nuclear power reactors which are currently in operation in most countries. If smaller, simpler-to-operate and less costly power reactors became available, which seems rather likely in a lO-year perspective, interest would incr~ase. Already a number of developing countries are requesting that an inquiry should be made by the Agency into the technical and economic feasibility of using baclear reactors for sea-water desalination. Considering the vast dimensions of the problem of shortages of drinking water, this request Is understandable and vill be accommodated. (Mr. Blix. IAlA) Most as~!st8Dce and technology transfer to developing countries through the IAEA concerns non-power projects. To our regret, the Agency's share in United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) financing during the fourth programming cycle has declined. Fortunately, however, the Agency's Technical Assistance and Co-operation Fund, based on voluntary contributions, has grown considerably and has made possible expansion of assistance and technology transfer in the fields of agriculture, medicine, industry, environmental protection, hydrology, and so forth. Thus, more projects have become possible, dealing for instance with the imp~ovement of crop yields, pest eradication, water management, radiation treatment of cancer - to mention only a few. Let me, however, be a little more specific about one current project of great interest. This concerns the actions under way to eradicate the new world screwvo~ in North Africa. The infestation has been spreading rapidly in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and, if not stopped, could threaten cattle and wildlife not only in countries in the Mediterranean basin but also in other countries in Africa and the Middle East. A major inter-agency eradication programme has been launched, utilizing insects sterilized by gamma rays, a technique which has been effectively used in North America. A number of organizations, including FAO, IAEA, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IrAn) and UNDP, are now co-operating with Libya in this large programma, which has been welcomed and encouraged by the Economic and Social Council. Kith FAO aa the overall lead agency the IAEA has been providing technical leadership and research support. Let me mention, lastly, that many of the isotope techniques promoted by the Agency in developing countries are related to environmental research and problem-solving. The use of the sterile-insect technique in the screvvorm project has the important fringe benefit of reducing the amounts of pesticide re.iduea (Mr. Bli., IAlA) which would have resulted fro~ a conventional eradication approach. Agency projects on fertilizer uptake and nitrogen f!xation lead to reduced fertilizer requirements, providing relief for the environment as well as for the farmer's pocket. A large-scale multidisciplinary projoct of great environmental interest relates to the Bra.ilian Amazon. The project, which is now in ita fifth year, use3 radioisotope techniques to study the effects of land use OD the ecology and climate of the Amazon. I should like to conclude with a few comments cn financing and management in the United Nations system. First, I must report to the Assembly that, although for many years the budgets of the lAEA have evolved as consensus documents - at zero real growth - and although the Agency has always been praised for efficiency, we ao~times face severe financial problems owing to late payments by member States. Only six weeks ago we were facing a cash crisis and the risk of interrupting our activities. Fortunately, a sufficient number of payments were received to avert the crisis. However, I Bust add ray voice to that of those who urge Member States to budget tmd time their membership contributions to international organisations in such a way that they comply with the rules which have been adopted in the.. organizations with their own support. Organisations set up od supported by the worlel community of States and used increasingly as vital instruments of this community should not be espesed to the risk of insolvency. Secondly, I Must 8gain coavey to the General A.sembly ~ CODcern about the deteriorating conditions of employaent of prof.s.ional staff, relatiDg for instance to post adjustmeDt.~ salary cleterminations, peasion matters and th. like. There are unfortunately inaications that as a re.ult of this deterioration the IAEA has lost the competitive e4ge it used to have in the ...11 Bactor of tb, labour market of eDgine.re end sciontiets fre- wblch it dra•• it. very speciali.ed ataff. The "* reality is that we can only function well and have the respect of the nuclear wc. d if our staff are on a par with the highly qualified national staff that are our counterparts in member States. Ke sh&re the aim of a single unified international civil service through the application of common parsonnel at&ndards, but the common system should not be a straitjacket. The organizations of the United Nations family share common goals and have mechanisms for co-ordination, but their individual objectives, programmes and modes of operating, ae well as their location, must make possible conditions of employment which are responsive to their different needs, while, of course, maintaining the esscntial degree of commonality. I would appeal to the General Assembly to b8~r this in mind when it takes decisioDS affecting the common s18tem as a whole. Thirdly, and lastly, may I refer to tho functioning of an even more important common system - namely, the family of United Nations organizations. Whether ~ want it or not, modern communications are bringing about a rapid integration in the world, with bClllefits in trad" and the transfer of ideas and technology, but also collisions of interest and conflict from new prozimity. At DO time has the Deed for common rules and instruments for common action been greater and at no time has the overall climate for practical global co-operation been more promising. We do not have an international government, but we have a common system of intergovernmental organisations that works and moves through conciliation, co-ordination and CODsensus. It im incumbent upon us to make the fullest us. of these instruments to preserve the planet frOM environmental ae.truction, to bring about development and the protection of human rights, to achieve verified disarmament and arms control and the peaceful r••olutioD of conflicts. In all the•• areas the IABA is ready to 40 its abare aDd makQ ita contribution to the work of the common system. Permit me in closing to express IAEA·s appreciation to the Austrian Government, which is the excellent host of the Agency and several other organizations of the United Nations family. Tbe PRESIDENT: I call on the representative of Poland, who will introduce draft resolution A/45/L.9. Mr. PAWLAK (Poland): The Polish delegation is pleased to commend the Director General, Mr. Bans Blix, for his lucid comprehensive statement covering the activities of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) during 1989. Poland has high regard for the useful role played by the IAEA in fostering international co-operation in the field of the peaceful uses of nuclear enorgy, the safe development of nuclear energy, and the prevention of the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Because of the broad scope and great variety of the Agency·s activities and programmes in 1989, it is very difficult to deal with them all here today in the course of a short intervention. Therefore, I shall confine myself to issues of special significance, the first of which is the use of nuclear energy to generate olectricity. In this regard, the lAEA has made a significant contribution by providing expertise through its numerous missions, technical assistance and training, and various reports and recommendations on nuclear safety standards. The Agency is focusing its attention on such issues as comparisons between nuclear and other types of energy, from the point of view of their impact on the environment and the dissemination of information on the ecological advantages uf nuclear energy - so long as the highest standards of safety are applied - and this deserves our full support• At the same time, the Agency is the most authoritative and most suitable institution to be broadly involved in dealing with the problems relating to the social acceptability of nuclear energy. In the world-wide debate on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, lAEA should have a central role to play. My remarks on the topic of the social acceptability of nuclear power have a deep reason behind them. In this connection, I am voicing my delegation's regret concerning the suspension of the nuclear ~ower-plant construction in Poland. In the light of this decision, the confidence in nuclear power can be restored in Poland only when it is applied as well as tested in the West, with highly reliable technology and equipmant. In this regard, the shortest way towards achieving thi= goal leads through the application in Poland of the best technology of the European Community, the United States of America or Canada. Additionally, the Polish delegation is of the view that an early acceptance by all members of the international community of common standards of nuclear safety and an early agreement on a comprehensive liability regime for nuclear damage, including State liability, would further contribute to the public's acceptance of nuclear power throughout the world. For its part~ Poland has decided to accede to the Vienna Convention and to the Joint Protocol to the Vienna and Paris Conventions on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage. I wish also to recall here that lAEA has worked out a methodology for defining the radiation levels at which the consumption or importing of different kinds of food should be banned because of their radioactive contamination. The unified standards applied by various Governments would undoubtedly increase public confidence in peaceful applications of nuclear energy. My delegation welcomes the information given '7 the Director General of lAEA, Mr. Bliz, that "a conference will be arranged by the IAEA in September 1991 to discuss the next phase of international co-operation in the field of the safety of nuclear power". (supra•• p. 14) This initiative represents one more proof that IAEA has been on the cutting edge of events for a long time. My Government attaches great importance to the work of the Agency in providing safeguards for the use of nuclear materials. Today the increasing quantity of safeguarded material, the growing complexity of the nuclear-fuel cycle and rapid technological changes in fuel-cycle processes call for measures to ensure that IAEA will not lag behind in technological advancement. In this context, I wish to announce that ~ country has given up the old, time-consuming procedure of approving safeguard inspectors on its territory. In a recently completed st~ldy on the role of the United Nations in the field of verification one may read: "In operating its safeguards system, the IAEA has acquired valuable experience in easuring the non-diversion of nuclear material from peaceful purposes as well as in handling inspection procedures. This experience has been drawn upon in designing verification regimes for various agreements and could be of considerable value in devising future verification regimes." (A/45/312, para. 136) My delegation fully shares that appraisal. In the same document there are estimates by the Swedish delegation that to bring all civil nuclear activities in all nuclear-weapon States under the IAEA safeguards it would be necessary to double the Agency's ezpenditures on safeguards. Poland appreciates very much the decision of nuclear.•weapon States to place some of their nuclear facilities under the IAEA mofsquards as a gesture of their (Mr. Pawak. Poland) good will; but what we all need most of all is to create all the necessary pre-conditions for the greatest possible reduction of nuclear weapons in the foreseeable future. Poland supports all measures leading to this goal. I should like especially to underscore the important idea contained in Mr. B11z's statement: ••••• programmes of regional nuclear co-operation could be added to the safeguards as an important factor yielding both economic benefits and mutual transparence. Confidence through control by verification would then be strengthened by confidence through co-operation". (supra•• P, 3) In this context it is necessary to mention the nuclear material market. My delegation regards the tendency of major nuclear suppliers to co-operate more closely among themselves as a positive phenomenon. Poland is of the view that the Fourth Review Conference of Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons has brought a strong reaffirmation of the IAEA's crucial role in ensuring compliance with the Treaty, through its safeguard system and its activities of vital importance to international peace and security. My delegation respects and supports this tendency. Being guided by an understanding of the necessity to strengthen the non-proliferation regime, Poland welcomes an announcement recently made by South Africa of the intention of its Government to begin discussions with lAEA on the conclusion of the safeguard agreement. My delegation believes that South Africa's example will be followed by other countries concerned. The significant scope of resources allocated in 1989 by the IAEA for technical assistance may serve as an example of the outstanding job done by the Agency's secretariat. However, to succeed finally in this domain the full implementa~ionby (~. Pawlak. Poland) Member Stat~s cf their voluntary obligations is also essential. Poland, in spite of its economic difficultios, has been able to fulfil its obligations. Moreover, "e declare cur readiness to intensify our involvement in the IAXA activities through: first, increased participation in the IABA regional and interregional £1&ld projectsl secondly, arranging more training courses under IABA fellowships; thirdly, hosting in our country various seminars, training courses and so on; and, fourthly, sharing "ith the developing countries our experience in the organization of measuring the doses of contamination of the environment, materials and foodstuffs, inclading the application of the laser-beam technology for purification of the flue gases at coal-burning plants and so OD. As usual, we are open to meeting other wlahes of the Agency and developing countries. Poland, "hich is this year chairing the IABA Board of Governors, declares.its readiness to support the Agency in the fulfilment of its important task in the field of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and invites. the other IAEA members to fruitful ana mutually beneficial co-operation. In conclusion, as an ezpression of my Government's support for the IAEA activities, I have the h~nour to introduce, on behalf of the delegations of Belgium, Nigeria, Portugal, Romania and ~ own delegation, the draft resolution OD IAEA's 1989 report. It is based cn last year.'s resolution, "hich "as adopted by the General Assembly by consensus. We espect that this yea~ the draft resolution "ill be adopted in the sUle "ay. Mr. IRPOS (Hungary) I The HWlqadu delegation wishes to express approciation for the report which the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) submitted to the United Bations General Aasembly. and for the excellent presentation that ha. 'uat been given by Mr. Bans Blix, the AqencyOs Director-General. It gives ... pleasure to assure him that we agree with the main conclusions of his report, with the evaluation of the Agency'. activities in the previous period, as vell as with the proposals concerning the future. During the course of the thirty-fourth General Conference of IAEA - vhich the reprosentative of my country was honoured to chair - the new Govermnent of the Republic of Hungary reaffirmecl its commitment to the Aqency's statute, and underscorecl its continued ~eacline.s to play a useful role in further strengthening and enlarging the activities of IAEA. That position is a logical outcome of the evaluat ~n expressed on various occasions by the Government of HWlgary, which I would like to reaffirm t04ay also before this forum. Within the system of United RatioDs related agencies, IABA is considered as an orqanization of outstan~~""~,- importance, which successfully fulfils its duties as laid doWD in its Statute. Like the great majority of the States members of lAEA, Hungary has profitQd from the vast e:perience ac~uired by the Agency in numerous fields, and has made good use of the possibilities for international co~operation. The function of lAEA to contribute to the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes has greatly helped my country in establiahinq its nuclear energy production capacity. The Agency is a constant source of assistance in th6 realization of our aspiration to maximum safety in nuclear energy production, as well as in the reliable and economical operation of our nuclear power station, which provides the country with almost 40 per cent of its energy procluction• I could ~ite numerous examples to prove that the material and intellectual resources of IABA have contributed to the safe and efficient operation of our nuclear energy prQduction. That background has given r~assurance to the public, and prof.s.ional incentives to industry. The realization of a programme aimed at ~48rnl.1Dg the inspection system, which was carried out at the atomic energy station located in the city of Pats through the technical-technological assi~tance pr09r~ of IABA, or the mission or the Operational Safety Review Team, which scrutini.ed in a complex manne~ the operation and safety aspects at the same station, or the mission preceding the Integrated Safety Assessment of Nuclear aeactors carried out at the research reactor in Budapest, are but a few examples. Ne agree with, and support, the efforts to place special emphasis on nuclear safety in the Agency's activities. The forthcoming meeting on ~uestions of safety in nuclear power plants, initiated by the European Communities and supported by IABA, will be an important event in te.pi.ng with this trend. We also support the Agency's initiatives for the experimental introduction of the international nuclear event sca18, which might promote relevant, authentic and comparab~e information on nuclear accidents and extraordinary events. In the field of legal aspects of nuclear safety, the actiVity of IAEA is similarly characterised by noteworthy a5pir~tion3. In this context, we welcome the fact that there has been an increase in the n~ber of States parties to the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident, the Convention on the physical Protection of Nuclear MatGrial, and the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological EmergsDcy. lAEA has started a promising study on all asp~cts of liability for nuclear damaqe. Last year, Hungary became party to the Vienna Convention and to the Joint Protocol Relatinq to the Application of the Vle~r" Convention and the Pads Convention. We have been actively participating in tha study, which ls aimed at moderniZing and makinq c~reheB.iv. the e~lstlDq regimes OB liability for nuclear damage. !he IDterDati~nal Atomic Energy Ageney has achieved notable results in explorlDg the multifaceted rel~tionship between ene~9Y production and the protection of the humn environment. The Gevsrilll1ent of Hungary ila about to redefine its concept of energy policy and, in that process, it wA0~es to capitalize on the Intellectual potential and experie~ce ~hich the Agency has accumula~ed. In so uoiag, we hope not only to improve our country's 8cological situation, but also to ~untrlbut. tc global efforts in anvironmentel protection. !he Agency has an outstanding role to play in connection with the Treaty on the ROD-Proliferation of Bucleer Weapons~ At the Fourth Review Conference of the Partie. to the Treaty, the representative of the Govera~eat of Hungary evaluated it. perfo~anco In that fielQ, and noted with great aatisfaction that nuclear materials in fac!llties undsr IAEA safeguaros have beeu used solely for peaceful purpo••e. We are Interested in maintaining a r.liabl~ and trustworthy 3afeguarda sy.taa. Tb.~efore, we Dupport all effo~ts to m~ke the IAEA syatern capable of coping with the growing quantitative end qualitative d0mands. Our fundamental ezpe:tctloD of that system is to provide, cur~ently sad in the futurs, assurances to .vary StatQ party to the nen-proliferation Treaty in ezchange for their meeting thel~ obli9atio~.Q In this contezt# I would like to call attention to the many eug;eetlons and p=oposal& made in the cour~. of the Fourth Roview Conferenc8# in plenary ..5tlag_ or in committeea g aimed at impreving the aafeguardB activities of IABA, and .tr5D9thenlng confidence in the Don-proliferation regime. Tb. eDDual report of IAEA contains detail. OD its technical assistance progr~D. Aa I have already mentioned g Hungary has benefited several times from auch progr....., &Dd counts on the continu&ticn of this kind of co-operation. At tho _.. t1ln, howover, I wish to mar.tion that the Republic of Hungary, on the belle of it• .cd••t but growing knowledqe and exp~rieDce iD the peaceful application of nuclear energy, has already been sharing knowledge with other countries that can utilize it in their own process of development. Let me state that we. shall maintain and further strengthen such co-operative relations in the years to come. In conclusion, I wish to underline that we accept the Agency's report, and agree with the draft resolution presented just now by the representative of Poland under item 14. I should also like to convey our thanks to Mr. Bans Bl1z for hiB successful direction, and commend the work dODe by the International Atomic Energy Agency• Mr. KRAVCP~ (Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic) (interpretation from Russian): The item that is under discussion today in the General Assembly is not an ordinary, run-of-the-mill item on the agenda for us Byelorussians. The field of activity of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the goals in the interest of which the Ag~ncy vas created, ere for us vital in the literal sense of the word. To be more specific, it is a matter of the very survival of the Byelorussian nation. Our delegation has listened with great attention to the statement by Mr. Bliz, the Director General of lAEA. Both the statement and the report once again confirm that the Agancy plays an important role in the life of mankind today. The IAEA's contribution to attainment of the goal of the safe, stable end environmentally sound development to which the ~orld community aspires is considerable. I ask delegations to put aside for a moment the wealth of detail of the Agency's work and turn their thoughts to the basic question: what is our work and the work of the Agency really about? The answer to this question is contained in the Declaration adopted at the eighteenth special session of the General Assembly a few months ago in the new world circumstances. It is that the focus of development must be the human b~ing with his myriad physical and spiritual needs. The human being is the starting point of that scale by which the future activities of the Agency will clearly be measured; activities in a new ~orld, increasingly developing its understanding of universal human priorities and the fundamental values of the human personality. I do not deny that this is perhaps an unusual point of view with regard to the . issues relatinq to the activities of the Agency, which operates in a strictly technolo9ical field. But would it really be c~tibl. with the 0!a60m of mankind's collective intelligence as .-bodied her. in the General Assellbly to lose 8.ight of the human being in the cOMple. au1tifacete4 activities of the Agency? It is precisely this lino of thought that encourag.s us to hope that the humanitarian aspect will Incroa.iDgly be built into the 90al~ of the IABA in & changing world. brDiIUJ now to our ...,1aion of th. prospects for th& development of the IABA I would like to stre.. ~. tol1owiDi' Pirst, on. of th. ~st important strategic areaD of the Agency's work, in the opinion of Byeloruasia as uell .s of other States, is its contribution to the strengthening of peaee and uniYersal 8ecurity. We would welcome greater emphasis on its aoaitoriag functions in order to provide protection against the aiversion of nuclear aaterials cover.4 by the .afeguards reg~ to military purposes. This,is particularly relevant iD the conteat of the growing conc~rD of the intern2tional COMMunity about the daager of the proliferation of Duclear weapons and the u~o of the spectre of that ".poD .s a MU. of ezertlllg psychological and mUitlil....i/" pre.aure, This .aplainl our uaaverviDg support for the conslltent liDe taken by the Soviet Union aDd other Stat.l, whleb are tired of bein9 prisonera of fear and hQ.taps to aD at.le ArIIapclcloDe "4" lball' support the policy of Dtrengtbenlng the Tr••t!' on tbe .oa"Pl'ollfel'atioa of .ueleer _apoD8 (Mft) and the intorDational regt.e b.e~a CD ~ ~r••tr, ea4 a ce-pre-'nslve baD OD nuclear t.stee Only a cOllblr.aatioD of the t_ a"8•• of ell4eavour can, both iD .•pace and iD time, Umlt the exiatoDee of 1&\lclo.r ..apoDs u4 8Deure their eventual 811ll'linatioll. Soco84, the lfeloru.slan 8S1 support. the receat ratification by the Soviet UaloD aD4 the Vaite4 atat.s of tbelr bl1&tel'al ~I'.ati.. OD the Llmltmtion of •• -- n llillll Un4ftrground Nucl.ar Weapon. Test. and on Underground .ucl.ar,BBplo.ioDS for Peaceful Purpose" as vell a. the protocol. on verificatioD to tho.e Treatie,. This opens up nev pos,ibilitie, for the full aDd ca-prehan.ive prohibition of all nuclear te.t, and the atrengthening of the international non-proliferation regime and of security guarant.e. for Don-Duclear Stat••• Thi. is important for us Heau••, a. wa••tr••••d in the state.nt .rule in the Gen.ral Assembly by the Chail'lllaD of the Council of Mini.ter. of the Byelorumsian SSI, Hr. Xebich, on al S.pt~r thi. year~ the "810ru••ian SSR ia •••king to achieve the .tatus of • uDal.ar-fre. .one for it. t.rrito~ an4 i' studying the possibility of aceediag to the Treaty OD the ROD-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Today our Republic vi.he. to put forward froa thi. ro.tru. aD initiative concerning the creation in the future of a nuclear-fr•• balt COMpOsed @f BY810rusaia, the Ukraine and tho Baltic States, whlch could be ioiued by the eountd., of central Burope, if they .0 "ighecl. We are .aking this proposal aa a follow-up to the USSR" initiative on aatl89 the Saltic a Duel.ar-fre••one and building on ~e proposals of the central Buropean Stat.s for aone. of reduced military activity in their region. .. hope that thi. initiative vl11 be carefully • studied and will receive a positive reapon••• We are keenly aware that the achi.....nt of Ducl.ar-freo statUI for the By.loru,slan SSI would affect the strategic iaterest. of aaay partie.' aad that thi' initiative therefore call. for e r••ponsiblQ and carefull~ con.i4.red approach. The Byeloru8lliu SSR intends to adopt such u approach ad is guid.d by the principle that ateps to achieve this goal 8U.t Dot be 4etrt.entol to any country's legitimate security intereats or, ind••d, to the stability o~ the cODtiDeut in ganeral. (Hr. Irayghtpkaf 1Je10rul.iap S58) Third, the Byeloru8ia SSR 1, e,pec1ally llltelre.tees ill the ezpana!oll of the Agellcy', .ecurity pl'ogr.... for all type. of Duclear faciUtie',in particular faciliti•• age, with the conaequeDt illcr.aalag ri,t of accident,. Accor41Dg to the IAJA report, III tbe 1990, 50 per callt of functiolling Iluclear pow". 'tattou will have beeD i. operation for 25 year8 04 10 per cellt of fWlCtiolling 1'.'.lU'ch r••ctore v111 baft beeD iD operatioll fol' 20 years. la our vie., a particularly UIportu~ peri04 l' approachllt19 foi' the actlvltle, of the lAD. (Mr. Iroyeblpko. 1Jp1orul.lop SiB> Fourth, our d.legatioll appr.ciat•• thlt AgeIlCJ'" inllpection actlvlti•• in IIOll1todDCJ thlP ••f.ty of ••bUng .ucl.er power .tatioll. uel velcOlllea tho r.adinel. of the Govera.e.t. of the USSR ..4 of o~r cOUDtrio. i. B,.t.r. &Dd C••tral Burope to car~ out ..jor, obj.ctive .afety ch.ct., particularly Oil old .ucl.er power 'tatioD~. !h. Bfeloru••iaa SSR i, r.ady to .at. ita 0.. espert. availabl. to take part iD the Aq••cy'. wort i. W. are... Me a1ao lnted to ioi. the 0,.....n4.4 worJtlDg group vhich i. to IItu4l" u4er ••cy ...pic••, all the cOllpl•• a.pect. of liability i. respect of Duclear acci4eat., an4 arQ co.vi.ce4 of the D••d to develop .. Int.r••tloDal conventio. o. liability for daMawe cauae4 b7 Ducl.ar i.cideat. and by large-.cal. diaa.t.r. la particular. Fifth, the ay.lona.du SSR i. Go.vi.c.a that preve.tiDg' &'.1..... of radioactive .ubetue••, ..41 otbel' .uel••Z' .arety i ....., .ut ha". ap priority 1. the woZ't of Meaber State. aDd of the Agency It.elf. Our .epublic .uppo:te the .lIpu.io. of futur. pr09r..... 1. tbia •••, IlD4 aleo lat•• to tu. part, illl 1901, i. aD IABA iDteraatioaal co.fer••c. at a blgb political level which i. to curr.nt decade. Si.tb, •• lA State party to the CODYeatlo. o. Barly .otiflcatiolD of It .velear Accid••t ..41 the Co.ve.tio. on aa.iltaac:. iD the Ca.e of • ~uclear AccideDt or Radiological s.erg8.~, the B,.lor...l.. SSR call. upon all Itat•• to ace.d, to th••o IUA CO.Ye.tic•• aD4 to atr.DgtIut. the l.t.rutional aDd _tIORI _chaDt•• agr....at. ia 101vla; the probl... of .uel.ar .af.tl' &Dd tbe r&4iologlcal prot~ctioD of tbe pop.latio.. ~ Byeloru••iaa SSR i. prepare« to 'Dt~r i.to this kiad of co-operation with i.ter••tea Stat.. ..-b&ra of the IAIA, particularly with (Hr. IravshlAta. Irtloru••11D SSR) Seventh, the 8yelorusslan ssa actively aupports the establishment and develo~Dt of a system to provide iDfo~tion on incidents at nuclear power stations, information which has .0 far been available only to a very small number of eZllarts, and considers that one of the IIOst important tasks of the lAEA is to organi.e a broader international exchange of information on post-disaster phene-8na. ~i. would promote a more open 41.cussion, help the right lessons to be drawn from our 9rt. recent past and assiat the exchange of differing points of view OD the prospect. for the develOpMent of nuclear power. MaDklll4 "ill IIOst probably BOt be abl. to do without the peaceful uses of nuclear technology both DOW and in the future, but every country and every people has the right to det.~i.. When, how aDd iD what circumstances they should be used In ita econe-le develo,.ent atrategy aDd ita atrategy for presarvin9 envlronmantal balance aD4 the biosphere. It 18 DOt a Mr8 coincidence that in 11 out of the 27 countri.. where ~r. are currently Duclear power stations in operation, no Dew Duclear plant la currently UDder conatruction. It ia obvloualy ce-pletely out of the queation to construct Duclear power stationa In areas whiCh have already auffere4 the effecta of nuclear accidents - from a huaanltarian atandpoiDt, principally. Our Parliament and Government, in view of ths altuatloD In which the lyaloru••iu people flnds itaelf and iD the light of the categorical d....d. the public haa -.de, have taken the decision to halt the construction of two Ducl.ar power atations in Byeloruasian territory. ID our .epUblic, there ha. been enthuulastic .uppo~t for the «ec1810n by the Ukrain1aa SSR to·o~a~ down tba CherDob7l Duclear power atation completely. The fears CherDobyl caused for the future of nuclear power in the .1nds of its advocates sre no justification for th. lack of info~tioD available to the world community about th~ true scale of the Cb.rnobyl disa.t.r, .lnc. thi. lack ..rely holds back the development of international solidarity and the flov of voluntary assistance to the victims. Without over-dramatising the .ituation, I CaD .tate that among the people ~f the Republic, who are living in a very difficult situation in psychological terms, there has emerged a clear element of nistru.t in respect of the activities of the 0:f1c10l .tructu~••, particul.rly tho•• In place in 1986, and there is also hope that interD.tional a.si.tance viII be incr.a••d. I vant to be completely frank vith the Assembly. the bitter truth i. that it i. only DOV~ four and a half years later, that ve are finally and vith tr...n4ou. difficulty makiDg a breach iD the vall of indifference, ailence and lack of _!MPathy, and for this ve ours.lves are largely to blame. The verdict of history has yet to be p••••d OD tho.. in ~ur ••public who for 011'.1' thre. year8 hid th~ truth about the effoct. of the accid.at frOM our ~opl•• It is difficult to say vhy they did th18,.and to di••ntaDgl. cau•• fra- .ff.ct. vaa the deceptioa cau••d by ••crecy, or vaa the ••cr.cy the r••ult of the deception? Bither vay, it vas !Dh..an. Practically everyone ia thi. Ball nov vill have had occa.ioD to u.. a map, but I do Dot think I w111 be vrong if I say that only tho.. ill the 1T.tral!\lu uc! th.ir daUy live.. Our ne".papers pdllt th.. ju.t 989ill. a .ituation 111 which 8Y810ru••i8n delegation. vl11 .ver havo had to u.. charta of radiatioD l.vel. ia the Ufe of every family, every 1lldlv14ual" .u.t be org_h.d, .very da;" around such charta. We are literally l1villg uncl.1" the .word of DlUIIOc1••• (Mr. Iraygbapka. 1fI1grUIJlop SSR) A mere glance at these charts will make it clear to you how unprecedented the ~ituation in Byelorussia is in its c~~plexity. Seventy per eent of the Chernobyl radionuclides landed OD Byelorussia. They have contaminated a third of its territory. One in five of the total population, 2,200,000 people, including almost 800,000 children, have become the innocent victims of Chernobyl, hostages to the hazardous aftermath of radiation. rrom 120,000 to 150,000 people residing in zones of especially high risk are awaiting relocation to settlements now under construction in uncont5minated areas. The geographical limits and the safety criteria for living in the contaminated parts of the Republic have yet to be precisely defined. Over 30,000 people were evacuated in the very first months after the Chernobyl catastrophe. This area is now a radiation desert, depopulated no-go areas covering many hundreds of thousands of hectares, fenced off with barbed wire. It will be impossible to live there for hundreds of years to come, even according to the most optimistic estimates. New patches of radiation contamination keep appearing. Decontamination is not producing the results we hoped for. Radionuclides are spreading throughout the Republic and are threatening to spread even beyond. They have been detected in people even in uncontaminated areas. (Mr. Kravchanka. Byelorussian SSR) In order to fUlly comprehend the enormity of what has happened it is necessary to review the history of the Blrelorusa1an people within the context of European history. Thero are not many peopl.s to which history has been 85 cruel as it -has been to thtl Byelorusl51an people. More than once over the last centuries it has seen ita capacity for survival put to the test. For c8nturiss our territory, whiCh has been a kind of cross-roadB of Burope, has not been spared a single invasion, campaign or aggression. Wars and plagues have with terrible and implacable regularity at least once a century re4uced the By.loru.sian population by a quarter to a half. Between the middle of the seventeenth century &Dd the end of the eighteenth, its population was halved. At the end of the .eventeenth century fewer than one million people were left on our soil. Our stock vas on the brink of physical extinction. At the begiu1ng of the nineteenth century we lost a quarter of our popUlation. In the years of the First World War .. loot • fifth of our population. And the whole ~(":r1d knows that in the holocaust of the Second World War one out of foul' inhabitants of our Republic wall t111ed. At the aite of Khatyn, the peaceful IDhabitants of the Byelorul!lsian village vere put to the torch aloDg with the villag.. In the Memorial Centre there now stand in mourning three birch tre••, BAd in place of the fourth tree burns an eternal flame in memoriam. I should lite to atress that it has taken a full 30 years for the population to be res~or.4 to the pre-war figure. Then there was this n.v ordeall Ch.rnobyl, the Calvary of the twentiath century for the Byelorusslu people. AI5 I stud at this rostrum, in my mind I can hear the now stilled voices of my ~opl. er}" out over rmd over again the same que.tionl why? why? In Slavic languages, includiDg the Ukrainian and Byelorussi&D laDgUages, there is a 1IOrd "M1rnwI", which means wormwood., bitter qrass. This has .tdkilUJ relevance to the Charnobyl tra')edy. I em no fatalist. I do not b6Ueve i51 the blind inevitability of fate, but who can fail to be moved by.the.e tragic an4 8legi&c words f~om Revelation, which must leave their indelible imprint on the heart; and there fell a great star from heavon, burning as it were a lamp, od "••• it fell upon the third i?lrt of the rivers, and upon the fountains of water, And the name of the star is called Wormwood; and the third part of the waters became vonnrood, aD4 llIany IIlen died of the waterll, becau•• they wera made bitter." (D. IQlr Bible, Revelation 8;lQ-;&.1) At the end of the twentieth century the human intellect - educated in rationalism, in faith, in the creative power of science end knowledge - refu••• to accept that those ~rds may prove prophetic and fateful for the Byelorue.iaD people. To prevent Cheruobyl froll becollling an irreversible tragedy for the Byeloru.sian people, we must l....diat.ly adopt a more comprohensive ••t of additional measures, particularly medical and biological measures. !he reality is vastly different from the earlier .stimates of Soviet and foreiqn experts. This has been demonstrated by reliable data concerning the deterioration in the health of our Republic's inhabitants« There is a particular danger to the thyroid glands of children. Bvea now, in the southern area of By.lorus.ia, the average incidence of thyroid dis.a.. ha. doubled. In 1I0nEHl a~focted by radiation there has been a seven-fold or eight-fold increase in the incidence of anaemia, a ten-fold increase iD chronic path~logy of the naaopharynz, and a 1.5 to two-fold increase in the number of congenital birth defects. (Hr. IroychDDka, Byelorul,iop GSB) The manifold changes in the immune, endocrine, nervous and he~4genic ,ystems of the human body and their slow and steady progression constitute a sort of radiation AIDS. A se~ious threat is posed by deferred oncological and genetic pathologies. An upward trend has been observed in the incidence of cancer and leukemia among children. According to the estimates of certain authoritative Amerlc~~ researchers, the number of cancer cases is expected to reach it' peak between 1994 and 1996. The chronic effects of radiation over a number of generations may lead to D geometric increase in the level of mutations. There exists a genuine threat to the gene pool of our nation. The potential genetic threat to the popUlation, as is clearly shown by data from a socioloqical survey, in the next few years may form, in the sphere of marriage and in other areas of human relations, a kind of band of outcasts. A demographic decline has already begun. The natural population growth of the Byelorussien 8SB decreased from 7.4 per thousand in 1986 to 5.1 per thousand in 1989. Our Republic is taking extraordinary measures. The Byelorussian SSR has appealed to the world community for assistance and co-~peratioD, and it is grateful for the international solidarity and support that has been provided. However, assistance has come mainly through non-governmental chennels. Ne appreciate the co-oporation that has begun with the international specialized agencies of th~ United Nations and with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IABA). A second Chernobyl must be prevented. We need the full store of international experience in the struggle Against the consequences of such disaster,. Such experience could be u,eful for the international community since the Chernobyl disaster has global consequences. Tbis was shown in the report of the United Natiens Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation published in 1988 and compiled oa tho baois of data provided by 3~ countries. The fields of future international co-operation will be defined in lar~~\ meallure by the results of international research and expert missioDs aaI'd..;,' c' the affected areas, in which a number of intergovernmental and nOD-gover~;,~~ organizations have taken part, including the United Nations system, pGrticul?~~1 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and . IAEA, a8 well aa the Commission of Buroperm COIllllUDities, the League of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the World Council of Churcho~. Our constant interest in the various forms of co-operatiQ~ w~th the IAEA has baen demonstrated by the scientific ozaminstloD of radiologlcaJ. effects ~arried out under the auspices of tho Agency and tha dqniDq by the By.lorue!!i_ SSH, the USSR and the UkraiDian SSR with the 1'\BA of thl1quadripartite agreement on conducting Int.rnatioD~l research, and thA bilateral &qre~~nt with the Agency ~n receiving te~hDical assistance. QUI' I.public intendD to participate actively in workiDg out the strategy of rehebilitatlDq ecological .ystem., pre••rv!nq human health ftbd prot~ctlDq the population against radiation. We are interested in the activities of, and co-operation with, IAlA OD the quantification of levels cl radiation and 'radioactivity in fo04 and animal fodder for intervention criteria and recognition of the ro18 of "hot particl...., etfect. of lov-lsvel radiation, radio-biological .ffects and other defe~red consequences. We propose that an international contre be set up in the Byeloruss!an SSR specifically designed to study hitherto unknown radiation ecological, and radiobiological problems which would logically supplement the international research of the Chernobyl centre in the Ukrainian SSR and the radiation medical centre in Obninsk in the Russian Federation. The Byelorussian SSR proposes a review of the criteria, terms and procedures for the adoption of relevant decisions in the IAEA, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other international agencies and programmes within the framework of the United N~tions syst.em fo~ the provision of special assistance to States in cases of transboundary nuclear damage. These should be primarily States which do not possess the necessary national capacity to tak® protective measures. We propose also to set up a special voluntary Chernobyl trust fund for the financing of appropriate programmes of international co-operation and assistance. If such a fund is set up we are firmly convinced that its Board could include eminent political figures, former presidents, Heads of State or Government, businessmen, prominent representatives of tbe scientific and cultural communities, leaders of religious communities and faiths and famous sportsmen. The lAEA, the Interaqency Committee on Reacting to Cases of Nuclear Accidents, and a number of specialized agencies and organs within the United Nations system could also participate in the activities of such a fund. Today we wish to make one more propQsal: to proclaim 26 April, the day when the Chernobyl disaster occurred, as an international day for the prevention of nuclear and other industrial disasters. I wish to emphas~ze that the Parliaments of Byelorussia and the Ukraine by special decrees have already proclaimed 26 April, the day of the Chernoby! tragedy, l!l day of mourninq and remembrance, The Byelorussian 8SR believes it to be very important for the forty-fifth session of the General Assembly to adopt a special resolution which would reflect an understanding of the global nature of the catastrophe and to formulate concrete plans for stepping up co-ordinated action between the United Nations system, including the IAEA, and other international organizations in order to ease and minimize the global and local consequences of Chernobyl. In conClusion, I should like to express the hope that the decisions to be taken by the forty-fifth session of the General Assembly on the lAEA report and also on questions of the effects of atomic radiation and international co-operation in the easing and minimizing of the consequences of the Chernobyl catastrophe will promote more active co-operation among United Nations member States and increase the effectiveness of the work of the Agency itself. All those p~oblems can be resolved only if there is harmonious i~teraction between eoology and politics, radiation safety and morality and further advances in scientific thought and genuine humanism. I am firmly convinced that the world community will not be able to enter the twenty-first century with a clear conscience wit~out solving global problems, particularl~ those related to the prevention of war and the elimination of hunger, disease and underdevelopment - and here we declare our full solid~rity with our brothers in the developing countries - including the problem of saving the people who suffered from Chernobyl - Russians, Ukrainians, Byelorussians and other nationalities - the matter of eliminating the threat to the heriditary identity of the nation. Let us hope that it will not be the words quoted above from that great literary monument of all tiMes and peoples, the Bible, that will be prophetic and prove to be our fate but rather the words of our national Byelorussian poet, Ouladzimir Dubouka, ringing with faith in the indomitable will, steadfastness and tremendous vitality of our people: "Oh, Belaru8, my wild rose, A green leaf, a red flower Neither whirlwind will ever bind you Nor ~ernob,yl [wormwood] will ever cover" Our people believe and trust that people of good will, fellow residents of our common home, planet Earth, will not leave us to face catastrophe alone. The meeting rose at 11.45 a.m ,"