Ban Nukes On Earth

TALKING POINTS: BAN NUKES ON EARTH

Sept. 7 IAEA Meeting Notes:

http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2009/bog070909.html

The Director General reported that although the Islamic Republic of Iran has cooperated with the Agency on some issues, several critical areas remain unaddressed. "Iran has not suspended its enrichment related activities or its work on heavy water related projects as required by the Security Council, nor has Iran implemented the Additional Protocol. Likewise, Iran has not cooperated with the Agency in connection with the remaining issues, detailed fully and completely in the Agency´s reports, which need to be clarified in order to exclude the possibility of there being military dimensions to Iran´s nuclear programme," he said.

Also, Dr. ElBaradei answered accusations that information has been withheld from the Board of Governors about Iran´s nuclear programme. "I am dismayed by the allegations of some Member States, which have been fed to the media, that information has been withheld from the Board. These allegations are politically motivated and totally baseless. Such attempts to influence the work of the Secretariat and undermine its independence and objectivity are in violation of Article VII.F. of the IAEA Statute and should cease forthwith."

In relation to the Syrian Arab Republic, the Director General noted that Syria still refuses to cooperate with the IAEA´s inquiry into the activities that were being undertaken at the now destroyed Dair Alzour site. "I urge Syria to cooperate with the Agency in its verification activities. It is in Syria´s interest to enable the Agency to corroborate its statements. I also call on other States which may possess information relevant to the Agency´s verification to make such information available to the Agency."

UN Meeting Sept. 24-25, 2009 Information:

• Its official name is the Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. The conference is named after Article XIV of the CTBT, which regulates the entry into force of the Treaty. The Treaty will enter into force 180 days after all required States have ratified it. In the meantime, conferences will take place every two years to accelerate the ratification process.

• Foreign Ministers from among 100 countries will gather to call upon remaining countries to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) without delay. They will also agree on a number of steps to promote the Treaty’s entry into force in the next couple of years.

• All States can participate and address the conference, including ratifying States, signatory States and non-signatory States. At the 2007 conference in Vienna, three non-signatories States participated: Barbados, Iraq and Pakistan. The representatives of Barbados and Pakistan also addressed the gathering. Inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations can attend as observers. The conference is open to the media.

• The UN Security Council will gather at the Heads of State level on the opening day of the conference to discuss nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, including the CTBT. It will be the first such meeting since 1992. The meeting will be convened by U.S. President Barack Obama, who has stated that he will immediately and aggressively pursue U.S. ratification of the CTBT.

Agenda for UN Meeting:

http://www.ctbto.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Art_14_2009/CTBT-ART.XIV-2009...