High-level meeting on nuclear safety and security

HE Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser (Qatar), who is the President of the 66th General Assembly has asserted that the high-level Meeting on Nuclear Safety and Security held on the margins of the UN General Assembly''s sixty-sixth session now in progress at the New York -based UN headquarters represents an ample opportunity to enhance international determination to review nuclear abilities and criteria and enhance them to upgrade them to highest degrees possible and called for continuingly offering support and consolidation to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in view of its major role in this regard. The meeting focused on strengthening the global nuclear safety regime and ensuring maximum nuclear safety standards, HE Al-Nasser said in his speech before the said meeting and voiced hope for the success of today''s meeting to step up international drive aiming at boosting nuclear safety and security and asserting the need to continue consultation with the general assembly and the member states for following up efforts necessary for ensuring constant role of the UN and its specialized agencies to undertake their effective roles in such a key field . HE Al Nasser voiced hope that the seoul summit on nuclear safety , slated for next March , 2012 would be an additional useful contribution in this reregard. In response to the disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan in March 2011, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is hosting a high-level meeting on 22 September 2011 on the margins of the UN General Assembly''s sixty-sixth session. The meeting is expected to focus on strengthening the global nuclear safety regime and ensuring maximum nuclear safety standards. The meeting is also expected to entail a serious global debate on broader issues, including assessment of the costs, risks and benefits of nuclear energy and stronger connections between nuclear safety, nuclear security and nuclear non-proliferation. HE Al-Nasser welcomed the convening by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of this important high-level meeting which is part of his five- point initiative, which he announced last April in Kiev ,Ukraine , praising however the announcement by the Secretary-General of a study at the level of United Nations system to examine the effects of an accident of Fukushima station to generate nuclear power, in which the relevant international organizations provided significant contributions in the preparation of a study that was presented to today''s meeting for consideration. Taken together, these accidents are a wake-up call for the world''s people. After all, the effects of nuclear accidents respect no borders. To adequately safeguard our people, we must have strong international consensus and action. We must have strong international safety standards. In the months following the Fukushima accident, the international community has mobilized to assess and apply lessons learned. National authorities have undertaken voluntary reviews of natural hazards facing their nuclear installations.Governments have reviewed safety standards and regulations. The international community has discussed the issue at numerous fora – including the G8 – and has taken concrete steps. I am grateful for the dedicated efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency led by Director General Yukiya Amano. I welcome the outcome of the Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety and the adoption of an Action Plan to strengthen nuclear safety. These actions demonstrate the collective will of the international community. The message has been clear and unified: we cannot accept business as usual – and we all have a stake in getting it right, HE AL NASSER concluded