MaximsNewsNetwork: 14 September 2009 - IAEA: IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei reports on the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the annual five-day general conference in Vienna, Austria. IAEA Director General, Mohamed ElBaradei, today (14 September) reported on the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the opening of its 53rd General Conference in Vienna, Austria.
ElBaradei said that nuclear disarmament is finally back on the worlds agenda and the IAEA could assume a significant additional verification role.
SOUNDBITE (English) Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the IAEA:
There were times in the past 12 years when I felt like one of a few lonely voices calling for nuclear disarmament, not least when I started to see the non-proliferation regime losing some of its legitimacy in the eyes of public opinion, most notably in the Middle East. Fortunately, after two largely lost decades since the end of the Cold War, the tide now seems to be turning. This primarily reflects a realization that, with the technology out of the tube and an increasing risk of terrorism, the danger of nuclear weapons being used has increased considerably.
The General Conference is an annual, five-day event. It brings together representatives from the Agencys 150 member states to review the work of the past year and to set the agenda for the year ahead.
The outgoing Director General also spoke about the Democratic People's Republic of Koreas (DPRK) nuclear ambitions.
SOUNDBITE (English) Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the IAEA:
In the case of the DPRK, the Agency sounded the alarm and reported the country to the Security Council for non-compliance with its non-proliferation obligations as far back as 1993. Sixteen years later, the DPRK has moved from the possession of undeclared plutonium to acquiring nuclear weapons. The on-again, off-again nature of the dialogue between the DPRK and the international community has stymied the resolution of this issue.
Yukiya Amano, formerly the Permanent Representative of Japan to International Organizations in Vienna, and Governor on the IAEA Board of Governors, was selected on 2 July 2009 by the Board of Governors to succeed ElBaradei, who was first appointed to the office effective December 1997, and reappointed in 2001 and 2005.
The Director General Designate spoke to the international media gathered at the General Conference.
SOUNDBITE (English) Yukiya Amano, IAEA Director General Designate:
I come from a country that had the experience of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This organization mainly deals with nuclear non-proliferation, but disarmament and non-proliferation have one thing in common, that is, strong commitment against other nuclear weapons. I will not work for Japan; I will work for the interest of the international community.
The Japanese diplomat is to become the fifth Director General of the IAEA in its 52-year history.
SOUNDBITE (English) Yukiya Amano, IAEA Director General Designate:
I am fully aware of the importance of a nuclear weapons free zone in the Middle East, and having that in mind I will do my utmost to follow the decisions adopted and to be adopted at the general conference.
Amano has extensive experience in disarmament, non-proliferation and nuclear energy policy and has been involved in the negotiation of major international instruments. He has held increasingly senior positions in the Japanese Foreign Ministry, notably as Director of the Science Division, Director of the Nuclear Energy Division and Deputy Director General for Arms Control and Scientific Affairs.
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