The International Atomic Energy Agency
&
The Future of Nuclear Energy in the Middle East
Ambassador Dr. Sameh Aboul-Enein
University of East Anglia
London, December 2013
Objective of IAEA
 For well over fifty years the International Atomic
Energy Agency has been dedicated to the achievement
of the vision “Atoms for Peace”, serving as the focal
point for worldwide cooperation in the peaceful uses
of nuclear technology, for promoting global nuclear
safety and security, and — through its verification
activities — for providing assurances that
international undertakings to use nuclear facilities and
materials for peaceful purposes only are being
honored.
IAEA at a Glance
 151 Member States
 53 years of international service
 2338 professional and support staff
 € 304 million total regular budget for 2010.
 2 liaison offices (in New York and Geneva) and 2
safeguards regional offices (in Tokyo and
Toronto).
 175 States with safeguards agreements in force,
of which 104 States had additional protocols in
force.
Board of Governors
 The Board of Governors oversees the ongoing
operations of the Agency. It comprises 35 Member
States and generally meets five times a year, or
more frequently if required for specific situations.
Among its functions, the Board adopts the
Agency’s program for the incoming biennium and
makes recommendations on the Agency’s budget
to the General Conference
General Conference
 The General Conference comprises all Member States
of the Agency and meets once a year. It debates the
annual report of the Board of Governors on the
Agency’s activities during the previous year, approves
the Agency’s accounts and program and budget,
approves any applications for membership, and elects
members to the Board of Governors It also conducts a
wide ranging general debate on the Agency’s policies
and programs and passes resolutions directing the
priorities of the Agency’s work in the medium and
long term.
Technical Issues of IAEA
 Nuclear Sciences and Applications.
 Nuclear Energy.
 Safety and Security.
 Safeguards and Verification.
 Technical Cooperation.
Nuclear Sciences & Applications
 The Department of Nuclear Sciences and
Applications helps countries use nuclear and
isotopic techniques to promote sustainable
development objectives in agriculture, human
health, water resource management, marine
environment and industrial applications.
Nuclear Energy
 The Department of Nuclear Energy fosters the efficient and safe
use of nuclear power by supporting nuclear programs around the
world, catalyzing innovation and building capability in energy
planning, analysis, and nuclear information and knowledge.
 The need for sustained economic development to reduce poverty
and hunger clearly necessitates increases in the supply of energy
and electricity. Nuclear power is a significant contributor to
world electricity, and its role as a major source of energy supply
and as a mechanism to mitigate climate change has been
undergoing a steady re-evaluation.
 More than 60 countries have expressed an interest in exploring
nuclear power, many of which are likely to bring their first
reactors on-line by 2030, according to Agency projections.
Safety & Security
 The Department of Nuclear Safety and Security works to provide
a strong, sustainable and visible global nuclear safety and
security framework, protecting people and the environment
from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation.
 As the global demand for energy intensifies and the need to
counteract climate change becomes more urgent, many
countries have committed themselves to exploring the possibility
of embarking on nuclear power programs or expanding existing
ones.
 However, not all States have adequate competences, especially
with regard to the required legal and regulatory frameworks
necessary for nuclear safety and security.
 The Agency assisted Member States in developing their
governmental and regulatory framework, especially those States
interested in developing new, or expanding existing, nuclear
power program.
Security & Safety (ctd)
 Incident and Emergency Preparedness and Response.
 Safety of Nuclear Installations
 Radiation and Transport Safety
 Management of Radioactive Waste
 Safety of Nuclear Material (Nuclear Security).
Safeguards & Verification
 The Department of Safeguards carries out the duties and
responsibilities of the IAEA as the world’s nuclear inspectorate,
performing an indispensable role in global efforts to stop the
spread of nuclear weapons.
 The Agency’s verification program remains at the core of
multilateral efforts to curb the proliferation of nuclear weapons
Through the application of safeguards, the Agency aims to assure
the international community that nuclear material and facilities
are used only for peaceful purposes.
 As such, the Agency has an essential verification role under the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, as well as
other treaties such as those establishing nuclear-weapon-free
zones.
Technical Cooperation
 The Department of Technical Cooperation helps countries to
improve their scientific and technological capabilities in the
peaceful applications of nuclear technology, thus contributing to
sustainable development.
 The Agency’s technical cooperation program is the primary
mechanism to support Member States in the peaceful and safe
use of nuclear technology for development.
 Due to the specialized technical nature of its contribution within
the wider development context, and in view of ever more
complex global challenges that must be tackled in coordination
with other relevant actors, the management of the program
emphasizes the importance of partnerships at all levels.
II. Potentials for peaceful uses of nuclear energy in the Middle East
1- The Arab Atomic Energy Agency is an Arab scientific organization, based in Tunisia,
concerned with the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, its development and
technological applications. It is a subsidiary of the Arab League, but it has an
independent identity. Its main role is to coordinate among Arab states, and to assist
in research activities, human resources development, and technical and scientific
information. The Arab Nuclear Agency seeks to coordinate scientific and technical
activities with concerned regional and international organizations. It aims to
establish unified regulations for radiological protection and the safe handling of
radioactive materials; to support and protect patents in the peaceful uses of atomic
energy; and to encourage and assist Arab scientists in the field of nuclear sciences
and technologies to attend relevant conferences.
2. It is important to point out the decisions made at the March 2007 Arab Summit in
Riyadh. One of the decisions were to undertake joint Arab cooperation activities for
the development of peaceful uses of nuclear energy and related technology and to
carry out a practical programme including "joint ventures for the development of
nuclear technology applications in various developmental fields especially energy,
water, medicine, agriculture and industry". The Secretary General of the League of
Arab States was requested, with the participation of the Arab Atomic Energy
Agency, to form groups of experts and specialists to consider ways and means for
such cooperation to take place within an integrated Arab framework.
II. Potentials for peaceful uses of nuclear energy in the Middle East
3. The Summit also adopted a resolution inviting Arab countries to use or expand the use of
nuclear technology for peaceful purposes for all fields of sustainable development, with due
consideration to the diversity of their needs and to the strict observation of the provisions of all
international treaties, conventions and regulations that they have signed. Among the executive
steps to be taken, the Summit provided support to the Arab Atomic Energy Agency as the organ
for joint Arab action in this field and called upon Arab countries that had not yet joined the
Agency to do so without delay. The Summit requested the agency to develop an Arab strategy
for the mastering of nuclear sciences and technology for peaceful purposes until 2020. The
Riyadh Declaration and Decisions struck a balance between peaceful nuclear ambitions and
the reaffirmation of "the importance of clearing the region from all weapons of mass
destruction [WMD].
4. In this view, any multilateral approach to the nuclear fuel cycle need to be economically viable,
sustainable, non-discriminatory, predictable and transparent under the auspices of the IAEA
and any other regional and multilateral forums. Any decision on proposals regarding
multilateral approaches to the nuclear fuel cycle must be made by consensus, and any proposal
from the IAEA must be consistent with its statute, without prejudice to the inalienable right of
States partied to the Treaty, if they so decide, to develop a full national fuel cycle, according to
article IV of the Treaty.
5. The multilateral approach can include proposals for assurance of supply in response to the
needs of interested States, and that fully takes into account all technical, legal and economic
complexities surrounding these issues and be conducted through wide, comprehensive and
transparent multilateral consultation.
III. Challenges to the implementation of peaceful uses of nuclear energy in the
Middle East
1. Without a doubt, Arab countries face many challenges
concerning the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, including the
following:
a. the IAEA has a major and important role in assisting State parties,
particularly developing States, including the Arab countries, in
planning for and using nuclear science and technology, to sustain
and further enhance their scientific and technological
capabilities, to share nuclear knowledge, and to transfer nuclear
technology to contribute to their socio-economic development.
b. The IAEA plays a central role in nuclear safety related matters,
including the establishment of nuclear safety standards, owing to
its mandated functions and long standing expertise. With that in
mind, any possible review of nuclear safety standards, in
association with nuclear energy uses, at the global level can be
carried out within the IAEA. The implementation of the Nuclear
Safety Action Plan endorsed by the General Conference of the
IAEA is of utmost importance.
III. Challenges to the implementation of peaceful uses of nuclear energy in the
Middle East
c. Measures and initiatives aimed at strengthening nuclear safety and
nuclear security must not be used as a pretext or lever to violate,
deny or restrict the inalienable right of developing countries,
including the Arab States, to develop research, production and use
of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
d. 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, the principles and purposes of the Charted of the
United Nations and the regulations of the IAEA. In this regard,
there is a need for a comprehensive multilaterally negotiated
instrument prohibiting attacks or the threat of attacks on nuclear
facilities devoted to peaceful uses of nuclear energy. This is a main
challenge and concern that need to be addressed.
III. Challenges to the implementation of peaceful uses of nuclear energy in the
Middle East
2. For far too long has the agenda been focused on the
non proliferation aspect of the Treaty. Developing
Countries, including the Arab States, are of the
position that proliferation concerns are best addressed
through multilaterally negotiated, universal,
comprehensive and non discriminatory agreements
that are transparent and that do not impose
restrictions on access by developing countries to
equipment, material or technology for peaceful
purposes which such countries require for their
continued development.
IV. Conclusion
1. The role that the Agency has played in helping to achieve global
development objectives continues to conform to the objective
stated in Article II of its Statute, namely to “accelerate and
enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and
prosperity throughout the world.”
2. let me conclude by emphasizing that the 2010 Review conference of the
NPT strongly called for all State parties to ensure that their nuclear
related exports do not directly or indirectly assist the development of
nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices and that such
exports are in full conformity with the objectives and purposes of the
Treaty as stipulated particularly in its articles I, II and III and with the
decision on the principles and objectives of nuclear non-proliferation
and disarmament adopted in 1995 in the review and extension
conference of the treaty.
IV. Conclusion
3. Moreover, in the Arab region, the activities of IAEA in the field of
technical cooperation, nuclear power and non-power applications
contribute in an important way to meeting energy needs, improving
human health, including the application of nuclear technology in
cancer therapy, combating poverty, protecting the environment,
developing agriculture, managing the use of water resources and
optimizing industrial processes, contribute to achieving the objectives
set forth in article IV of the Treaty.
4. There is a real need, in the Arab region, to strengthen both nuclear and
radiation safety as well as radiation protection measures at facilities
utilizing nuclear and radioactive materials and at radioactive waste
management facilities, including the safe transportation of these
materials. Furthermore, it is essential to strengthen existing
international regulations relating to the safety and security of
materials. In this regard, the effective implementation of the Code of
Practice on the IAEA International Trans-boundary Movement of
Radioactive Waste is of utmost importance as a means of enhancing
the protection of all States from the dumping of radioactive wastes on
their territories.
IV. Conclusion
5. Developed countries have an obligation to promote the legitimate need
of the developing countries, including the Arab States, to nuclear
energy by fully respecting the right to participate in the fullest possible
exchange of equipment, materials and scientific and technological
information for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. In this regard, it
remains deeply concerning that there is continued limitations and
restrictions on exports to developing countries for peaceful purposes,
despite such limitations and restrictions being inconsistent with the
provisions of the NPT.
6. To conclude, transfers of nuclear technology and international
cooperation among States parties in conformity with the NPT should
be supported and pursued in good faith without discrimination. The
elimination of constraints that are inconsistent with the requirements
of the NPT would ensure that article IV of the Treaty is fully
implemented with regard to facilitating the transfer of nuclear
material, equipment and technological information for peaceful
purposes among the State parties.