Governor to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board during the
Governors' meeting, Vienna
12 September 2007
Agenda item 7: Nuclear Verification (d) Implementation of the NPT Safeguards
Agreement and relevant provisions of Security Council resolutions 1737 (2006)
and 1747 (2007) in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Chairperson, at the outset, my delegation fully associates itself with the
statement made on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) on this agenda
item.
Chairperson, my delegation expresses its appreciation to and thanks the
Director-General Mohammed ElBaradei for his report on the 'Implementation of
the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran,' as contained in
document GOV/2007/48.
We wish to reiterate our sincere appreciation to the Director-General and
the Agency staff for their continued highly professional, objective and
unbiased approach to resolve the few outstanding issues related to Iran's
nuclear programme, in accordance with the ongoing verification activities.
Chairperson, South Africa notes that in accordance with the
Director-General's latest report, the Agency continues to be able to verify the
non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran. South Africa is further
pleased to note that Iran has been providing the Agency with access to declared
nuclear material, including providing the required nuclear material accountancy
reports in connection with the declared nuclear material and facilities.
It is further note worthy that since the last report of the Director-General
at our meeting in June 2007, important progress has been made to resolve some
of the outstanding issues regarding Iran's nuclear programme, in particular
resolving the issue of the plutonium separation experiments and the design
information verification undertaken at the IR-40 reactor.
South Africa commends Iran for its co-operation with the Agency in resolving
these issues and we encourage Iran to continue and indeed intensify its
co-operation.
Chairperson, we should recall that after many years of verification
activities by the Agency, there remain outstanding issues on Iran's nuclear
programme, and the Agency is also not in a position to conclude that there are
no undeclared nuclear materials or activities in Iran.
The Board of Governors and later also the United Nations Security Council
have outlined certain corrective measures to be taken by Iran to address these
outstanding questions and allow the Agency to express itself on the correctness
and completeness of Iran's declarations required in terms of its Comprehensive
Safeguards Agreement. It is clear that the process to resolve these outstanding
issues is not open ended, and should be completed as soon as possible. The
actions by the Security Council are to reinforce the authority of the Board and
the Agency and are therefore by their nature not intended to be punitive.
In this context, South Africa welcomes the recent understanding reached
between Iran and the IAEA on the modalities for the resolution of the
outstanding issues. This understanding provides a major building block in
resolving these issues within a specific time frame. The Director-General's
statement at the opening of this session of the Board clearly provided the
context in which this understanding will have to be implemented. South Africa
shares this perception of the Director-General on the implementation of this
understanding.
It is therefore important, as requested by the Board that Iran implement
transparency measures which extend beyond the formal requirements of the
Safeguards Agreement and Additional Protocol.
We believe that we are on the right path. Iran is providing information to
the Agency, which has already enabled the Agency to resolve some of the
outstanding issues. Iran has therefore indeed adhered to this requirement of
the Board and the Security Council. This is a commendable development and we
encourage Iran to not only continue to implement such transparency measures,
but also to enhance them, as this will be required to reconstruct the history
of Iran's nuclear programme, which is a key element in resolving the
outstanding issues.
Although resolving the outstanding issues would contribute to building
confidence in Iran's past nuclear activities, it is essential that Iran also
builds confidence in its present and future nuclear programme. Importantly, the
Agency must be able to provide assurances regarding the absence of undeclared
nuclear material and activities in Iran. South Africa therefore agrees with the
statement by the Director-General, that "given the special history of Iran's
nuclear programme, it would be indispensable for Iran to ratify and bring into
force its Additional Protocol, as called for by the Security Council and the
Board."
Chairperson, board members will recall that South Africa's Minister of
Foreign Affairs has stated in the past, and I quote: "At every point we have
called for dialogue and negotiations, and in the current crisis, encourage all
parties to spare no effort to seek a comprehensive and sustainable solution.
South Africa will continue to encourage all parties concerned to enter into a
dialogue and negotiations in order to seek a comprehensive and sustainable
solution. South Africa and the international community do not wish to see Iran
develop nuclear weapons, but equally we do not want to see war over Iran's
nuclear programme" Unquote.
Through the full implementation of this agreed work plan between the Agency
and Iran and in accordance with the time lines set out therein, the necessary
confidence will be created that could spark the resumption of negotiations
between Iran and all concerned parties. This would avoid a confrontation, which
no one desires and which would have catastrophic consequences for all.
South Africa also fully supports the statement of the Director-General in
which he called for a 'double time-out' of all enrichment related activities
and of sanctions, thereby providing a window of opportunity for the resumption
of these negotiations.
Chairperson, the Islamic Republic of Iran now has the opportunity, to
demonstrate and reassure the international community that all aspects of its
past, present and future nuclear programme are entirely peaceful. South Africa
calls on Iran to seize this opportunity to resolve the remaining outstanding
issues and to restore the international community's belief that its nuclear
programme is peaceful. Iran must also act with the requisite political will and
determination to clarify all outstanding and related issues as soon as possible
in a professional manner that will enable the Agency to discharge its
responsibilities and instil confidence in the process.
In conclusion
Chairperson, South Africa encourages all parties to refrain from any actions
that would hinder the implementation of the understanding reached between the
Agency and Iran. We believe that the Director-General, through his wise and
innovative leadership, has placed us on a path of resolving in a peaceful way
the issues surrounding Iran's nuclear programme.
We are at the cross-roads between the path of peace and that of escalation
along the road to confrontation and conflict and we must all choose the path of
peace and reconciliation and avoid war. We must be realistic and accept that a
difficult and delicate process is still ahead of us. However, this is not the
time for unwarranted scepticism or cynicisms and we all have to concentrate on
the big picture and assume our responsibility in that context. What is required
of all of us is to support the work plan and its objectives and we must all
avoid the temptation to micro-manage the process from the sidelines.
The Director-General and the Secretariat must enjoy our full trust and
confidence to enable them to discharge their solemn responsibility. It is
therefore incumbent on all of us to grasp this opportunity, which may well be
the last one, in order to avoid a major catastrophe that would be disastrous
for all concerned.
I thank you
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
12 September 2007
