Qatar Expresses Concern over Expansion of Nuclear Power Reactors Establishment

Vienna, September 16 (QNA) - The State of Qatar has stressed that the obsession with safety and security of potential nuclear accidents preoccupies the international community because of the long -term and cross-border impacts, expressing its concern about the quantitative and geographic expansion in the establishment of power reactors, which requires the promotion and sustainability of nuclear safety. HE Ali Khalfan Al Mansouri, Qatar's Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to the United Nations and international organizations in Vienna, called on, at a meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) under item (4) "Measures to strengthen international cooperation in nuclear, radiation, and waste transport safety" in September 2014, to spread the culture of nuclear safety and make it inherent in the nuclear technical community by promoting best practices related to nuclear safety and strengthening them in accordance with the scientific and technical developments and potential risks. He pointed out to the need to involve the public and civil society organizations in promoting the culture of nuclear safety in order to recognize and strengthen it. The State of Qatar confirmed that the international conventions in the field of nuclear safety adopted under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency are binding agreements and constitute the international legal and regulatory framework, he said, adding that they also constitute a regulatory framework for regional and international cooperation. Qatar also stressed that regional and international cooperation is an expression of shared responsibility to address the challenges and risks that threaten everyone and it enhances the capacity of countries to implement their commitments in the field of nuclear safety. HE Ambassador Ali Khalfan Al Mansouri noted to the two worst nuclear incidents in the world which are the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters, believing that reactors' safety resulting from a natural act requires to pay greater attention. HE welcomed activities of the IAEA to the evaluate the seismic safety in the existing nuclear facilities and alert to the risk of earthquakes in the evaluation of new sites of nuclear facilities. He also called on countries that have existing or under construction power reactors to give this issue more attention and apply all safety standards at these facilities, as well as to inform the Member States, in particular neighboring countries, about their proceedings and allow visits by scientists wishing to verify the safety of the facilities. HE Qatar's Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to the United Nations and international organizations in Vienna stressed that the security of power reactors and research centers represents an aspect of nuclear safety, and the other aspect, which is no less important, is the military nuclear activities which take place outside any international regulatory controls, considering that the existence of nuclear weapons and stockpiles of vast quantities of nuclear material used in weapons poses a threat. (QNA)