Proposals from the State Committee for Nuclear Energy, 'Regarding: the President of State Committee for Nuclear Energy’s candidacy for the Presidency of 19th General Conference of the IAEA'

Proposals

From the State Committee for Nuclear Energy

Regarding: the President of State Committee for Nuclear Energy’s candidacy for the Presidency of 19th General Conference of the IAEA.

Ever since the formation of the IAEA it was established that the role of the President of the General Conference is given, by rotation, to one of the eight geographical regions mentioned in the Organization’s statute.

According to the rotation rule, every region names one country from the region, which designates a representative- usually the leader of the national nuclear body.

The Socialist Republic of Romania is part of the Eastern Europe region along with all the other socialist countries in this area.

Heretofore, Eastern Europe chaired two sessions of the General Conference, more exactly, Bulgaria in 1960 and Czechoslovakia in 1967, following to gain this role again in 1975.

The Romanian Embassy thinks that there are steps to be made in this respect - asking for the support of the other neighboring countries, so that after the meeting of the IAEA socialist countries, at the end of August this year, held in Poland, Romania’s candidacy will be definitely accepted.

At the same time, the Romanian Embassy in Austria informed us that, until now, no Eastern European country has run, but it is possible that Poland will run for this position.

The General Conference is the most important gathering of the IAEA, which is held every year, and debates the major problems of the Organization.

The 1975 General Conference will discuss and approve last year’s activity, the budget for 1976, and the programs for the following years until 1980; it will elect new members of the Organization, for the Board of Governors, and its executive board; and it will discuss and approve the activity reports of the Organization, following to be debated by the UN.

One of the most important matters, which will be the subject of the current Conference’s debates, refers to the results and the conclusions of the NPT Review Conference, held in Geneva in May this year, five years since the Treaty was ratified. It is believed that, given the unsatisfying results of the above mentioned Conference, the countries that do not have nuclear weapons, especially the developing ones, will take advantage of this to reaffirm their position taken in Geneva to promote new measures, meant to contribute to increasing the advantages that they need to benefit from the peaceful use of atomic energy, and at the same time request the implementation of the NPT obligations took on by the nuclear and non-nuclear countries, in terms of assistance for developing countries both bilaterally and through the NPT, as well as applying safeguards according to the Treaty.

Also, it is expected that the countries that do not own nuclear weapons, especially the developing countries, will reaffirm their position towards the lack of concrete measures supposed to be taken according to the safeguards and disarmament principles on behalf of those who own nuclear weapons and ask them to take on responsibility in this respect according to the requirements stipulated in the Treaty.

This year’s General Conference of the IAEA will be a good opportunity to carefully promote the need to establish a new international political and economic order, including in the field of peaceful use of atomic energy.

Considering the special importance of the problems mentioned above, the need for the IAEA to contribute more to solving some of them, especially the one regarding the increased advantages for the developing countries, as well as the fact that the 1975 Conference will assess the last five years activity of the Treaty, we believe that if Romania chairs the current Conference, it will bring a positive contribution to their debates and to establishing measures meant to encourage the Organization’s activity and their efficiency, and the Agency will become a real and useful instrument for the member states.

In the light of the above statements, we believe the candidacy of Romania should be approved in order to become the Chair of the 19th General Conference of the IAEA.

In this respect, the Minister of Foreign Affairs should be empowered to carry out the necessary steps through diplomatic ways, announcing the responsible authorities of the socialist countries that are part of the “Eastern Europe” region about Romania’s decision and ask for their support.

We will request that this issue should be put on the agenda of the IAEA socialist countries meeting that will take place in Poland; with the occasion, our country’s candidacy should be accepted at last.