Despite becoming a "major player" on nuclear security issues, the International Atomic Energy Agency continues to face funding difficulties that threaten the organization's ability to carry out its mandate, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said yesterday in his final address to the U.N. General Assembly (see GSN, Oct. 22).
ElBaradei plans step down from his post at the end of this month; Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano has been named to succeed him (see GSN, Sept. 15).
"While I leave office after 12 years with pride in the IAEA's many achievements, I must also express some disappointment. Disappointment that we are still fighting the same battles to secure sufficient funding as we were back in the 1990s; that the development side of our mandate remains chronically underfunded; and that we still lack adequate legal authority to do our job effectively in verification, safety and security," ElBaradei said yesterday, according to his prepared remarks.
The agency's 35-nation governing board last June approved a 5.4-percent budget increase for the organization, a rare funding boost beyond inflation. However, the amount still fell far short of the 11-percent increase requested by ElBaradei.
"On a more positive note, nuclear disarmament, which failed to make any headway in the two decades since the end of the Cold War, is now back at the top of the international agenda and there is reason to hope that we may see a breakthrough," ElBaradei said (see GSN, Oct. 30).
"The gravest threat the world faces today, in my opinion, is that extremists could get hold of nuclear or radioactive materials," he said. "In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the IAEA initiated a comprehensive program to combat the risk of nuclear terrorism. I am proud of the speed and efficiency with which the agency established an effective nuclear security program which has provided $50 million in equipment, training and other assistance to member states in the last three years.
"But it is disconcerting that nuclear security continues to be funded almost entirely from voluntary contributions, which come with many conditions attached and are both insufficient and unpredictable. Much more needs to be done. The number of incidents of illicit trafficking and other unauthorized activities reported to our Illicit Trafficking Database -- over 200 last year -- remains a cause of grave concern and might well be only the tip of the iceberg," ElBaradei added (see GSN, Aug. 17).
"As I reported to the [U.N.] Security Council summit on nuclear disarmament in September, our ability to detect possible clandestine nuclear material and activities depends on the extent to which we are given the necessary legal authority, technology and resources (see GSN, Sept. 24). Regrettably, we face continuing major shortcomings in all three areas, which, if not addressed, could put the entire nonproliferation regime at risk. In over 90 states, the agency either has no verification authority at all, or its authority is inadequate, because these countries have not concluded the necessary agreements with the agency. That means we often cannot verify whether a country is engaged in clandestine nuclear activities.
"Our credibility depends on our independence. Additional funding is urgently needed for state-of-the-art technology so that, for example, we can independently validate environmental sampling analyses. We also need improved and consistent access to top-quality satellite imagery. Continuing with budgets that fall far short of our essential verification needs in the coming years is not a viable option," ElBaradei said.
"Important lessons need to be learned" from how proliferation concerns were addressed in Iraq and North Korea, he said.
"We must let diplomacy and thorough verification take their course, however lengthy and tiresome the process might be. We need to carefully assess the veracity of intelligence information. We must engage those with whom we have differences in dialogue rather than seeking to isolate them. We must act within the framework of international institutions -- in this case, the IAEA and the Security Council -- and empower them, rather than bypass them through unilateral action. The agency, for its part, must draw conclusions justified by the facts only. It must not jump the gun or be influenced by political considerations. Force should never be used unless every other option has been exhausted, and then only within the bounds of international law, as codified in the United Nations Charter."
"It is clear that tremendous challenges, but also tremendous opportunities, lie ahead for the agency. If nuclear disarmament proceeds successfully, as I hope it will, this could create a significant additional verification role for the agency. In 50 years' time, there may be several dozen additional countries with nuclear power programs, mostly in what today is known as the developing world. This will mean a considerable increase in demand for the IAEA's services in nuclear safety, security and verification," ElBaradei said (International Atomic Energy Agency release, Nov. 2).
Russia and the United Kingdom yesterday said the U.N. nuclear watchdog must receive "additional control powers," Interfax reported.
"We adhere to guaranteeing it that the IAEA would have the necessary powers and potential to secure the observation of nonproliferation commitments," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in a joint statement.
"Once again we confirm that all states must guarantee strict observance of their nonproliferation commitments under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty," the statement says (Interfax, Nov. 2).
Moscow yesterday announced it would provide a $6.5 million voluntary contribution to the IAEA Nuclear Security Fund over the next six years, RIA Novosti reported.
In addition, Russia would give more than $800,000 to the IAEA Technical Cooperation Fund this year, with additional contributions likely to follow, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said (RIA Novosti, Nov. 3).