Global Research

Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) countries [NAM consists of 118 countries, Global Research editor] at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna issued a statement on Thursday, thanking IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei for his report on implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in Iran:

The full text of the statement reads as follows:

At the very outset, NAM would like to recall its principled positions on this issue, as reflected in the Statement on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Nuclear Issue adopted in the 14th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement held in Havana, Cuba, on 15 and 16 September 2006.

The Heads of State or Government reaffirmed the basic and inalienable right of all States, to develop research, production and use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, without any discrimination and in conformity with their respective legal obligations. Therefore, nothing should be interpreted in a way as inhibiting or restricting this right of States to develop atomic energy for peaceful purposes.

They furthermore reaffirmed that States’ choices and decisions in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear technology and its fuel cycle policies must be respected.

The Heads of State or Government recognized the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as the sole competent authority for verification of the respective safeguards obligations of Member States and stressed that there should be no undue pressure or interference in the Agency’s activities, especially its verification process, which would jeopardize the efficiency and credibility of the Agency.

The Heads of State or Government welcomed the cooperation extended by the Islamic Republic of Iran to the IAEA including those voluntary confidence-building measures undertaken, with a view to resolve the remaining issues. They noted the assessment of the IAEA Director-General that all nuclear material declared by Iran had been accounted for. They noted, at the same time, that the process for drawing a conclusion with regard to the absence of undeclared material and activities in Iran is an ongoing and time-consuming process. In this regard, the Heads of State or Government encouraged Iran to urgently continue to cooperate actively and fully with the IAEA within the Agency’s mandate to resolve outstanding issues in order to promote confidence and a peaceful resolution of the issue.

The Heads of State or Government emphasized the fundamental distinction between the legal obligations of States to their respective safeguards agreements and any confidence building measures voluntarily undertaken to resolve difficult issues, and believed that such voluntary undertakings are not legal safeguards obligations.

The Heads of State or Government considered the establishment of nuclear-weapons-free zones (NWFZs) as a positive step towards attaining the objective of global nuclear disarmament and reiterated the support for the establishment in the Middle East of a nuclear- weapon-free zone, in accordance with relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions. Pending the establishment of such a zone ,they demanded Israel to accede to the NPT without delay and place promptly all its nuclear facilities under comprehensive IAEA safeguards.

The Heads of State or Government reaffirmed the inviolability of peaceful nuclear activities and that any attack or threat of attack against peaceful nuclear facilities -operational or under construction- poses a great danger to human beings and the environment ,and constitutes a grave violation of international law, principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations and regulations of the IAEA. They recognized the need for a comprehensive multilaterally negotiated instrument, prohibiting attacks, or threat of attacks on nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

The Heads of State or Government strongly believed that all issues on safeguards and verification, including those of Iran, should be resolved within the IAEA framework, and be based on technical and legal grounds. They further emphasized that the Agency should continue its work to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue within its mandate under the Statute of the IAEA.

The Heads of State or Government also strongly believed that diplomacy and dialogue through peaceful means must continue to find a long term solution to the Iranian nuclear issue. They expressed their conviction that the only way to resolve the issue is to resume negotiations without any preconditions and to enhance cooperation with the involvement of all necessary parties to promote international confidence with the view to facilitating Agency’s work on resolving the outstanding issues.

NAM welcomes the efforts made by Iran and the IAEA Secretariat in the implementation of the of the Work Plan as contained in INFCIRC/711 on Understanding of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Agency on the Modalities of resolution of the Outstanding Issues, which was reflected in the Summary of the previous report of the Director-General as a significant step forward. NAM believes that these steps will facilitate the negotiation between Iran and the concerned parties in order to have a peaceful settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue.

In these regards NAM is pleased to note that the Report of the Director-General establishes, inter alia, the following progress in the implementation of the Work Plan:

The Agency has been able to conclude that answers provided by Iran on the declared past P-1 and P-2 centrifuge programme are consistent with its findings.

Iran has provided sufficient access to individuals and has responded in a timely manner to questions and provided clarifications and amplifications on issues raised in the context of the Work Plan.