Intervenção do Brasil (em inglês) no debate geral da 67a Conferência Geral da AIEA (Viena, 26/9/2023)

Vienna, 25 July – 29 September 2023

General Debate

Statement by the Delegation of Brazil

Delivered by H.E. Carlos Cozendey, Ambassador,

Secretary of Multilateral Political Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Madam President,

I would like to start by congratulating you for your election as president of the 67th General Conference of the IAEA and express my delegation’s support to your work.

 Let me also extend Brazil’s warm congratulations to Director General Rafael Grossi on his approval by the General Conference for a second term. 

DG Grossi’s professional, proactive and inclusive approach has reinforced the role of the IAEA, in all areas of responsibility of the organization, from the peaceful uses of nuclear energy to the most sensitive ones.

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

The international community remains with high hopes for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and nuclear applications, and this will only be possible if the benefits of such technology are made accessible to all interested countries.

Brazil’s legitimate aspirations to further developing its nuclear sector, shared by many Member States, comes with a clear awareness of our responsibilities regarding nuclear safety and security, as well as of our safeguards obligations. 

Some of our main goals include the conclusion of our third Nuclear Power Plant (Angra 3) as well as of the Multi-Purpose Reactor (RMB) with an associated Fusion National Laboratory. 

The strengthening of our medical radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals production capabilities with a view to achieving national autonomy is also a top priority. 

I would like to take advantage of this opportunity to invite all delegations to participate in the three side-events being organized by Brazil during this General Conference, at which some of our strategic projects will be presented.

Brazil commends the role the Agency plays in the increasing democratization of access to peaceful uses of nuclear technology, an area that should be reinforced.

In our region, the Agreement for the Promotion of Nuclear Science and Technology in Latin America and the Caribbean (ARCAL) continues to play a pivotal role in strengthening technical cooperation.

We further welcome the establishment of the new Agency-facilitated Network of Research Reactors and Related Institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean. It will strengthen the evaluation of national and regional needs and the sharing of information and knowledge.

The development and application of the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is an important point in Brazil's cooperation with the IAEA. The Agency´s assistance for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean in the application of the SIT technique has been key for the control of disease-transmitting mosquito populations.

We fully support the flagship initiatives by the Director General (ZODIAC, Nutec Plastics and Rays of Hope) and we warmly welcome the new programme Atoms4Food, which will add to other international efforts at the heart of Brazil’s foreign policy objectives aimed to reducing food insecurity and hunger globally.  

Madam President,

Let me turn now to our priorities with respect to nuclear safety and security.

Brazil is continually engaged in maintaining the highest standards of safety in all of its nuclear sector’s activities. 

A positive development, in this regard, is the ongoing process aiming at Brazil’s accession to the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage.

In planning for the long-term disposal of nuclear and radiological waste, Brazil has opted for an innovative approach. The CENTENA project aims at building a final repository for nuclear waste, as well as fostering research and development.

I also note our continuous engagement in exchanging regulatory experiences and cooperating with other countries, in particular through the Ibero-American Forum of Radiological and Nuclear Regulatory Bodies, known as FORO.

With respect to nuclear security, we ratified, last year, the Amendment to the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and actively participated in its First Conference of Parties. Brazil is in full compliance with the amended convention and has been a strong supporter of the Agency’s work towards the convention’s universalisation. 

We welcome the upcoming inauguration of the Nuclear Security Training and Demonstration Centre in Seibersdorf, to which Brazil has offered in-kind contributions. 

My delegation looks forward to the 2024 International Conference on Nuclear Security: Shaping the Future, which will once again underline the central role of the IAEA in strengthening nuclear security globally.

Let me also take this opportunity to congratulate DG Rafael Grossi for his leadership to ensure nuclear safety and security in very challenging circumstances, including through the establishment of the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ), as well as of an onsite presence at the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

Brazil firmly believes that the importance of nuclear safety and security cannot be overestimated, and gives its full support to the Agency in providing assistance to Member States in this regard. 

Madam President, 

The work carried out by the IAEA in the implementation of safeguards is a core tenet of the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime.  Brazil reiterates its commitment to fully abide by its safeguards obligations, under two layers of inspections,  carried out by the IAEA and by the independent Brazilian – Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials, ABACC. We call for further strengthening coordination between the IAEA and ABACC to improve efficiency of safeguards implementation and avoid unnecessary duplication of activities.

In accordance with the Quadripartite Agreement, Brazil has initiated discussions with the IAEA Secretariat on an arrangement for special procedures for the use of nuclear material in naval nuclear propulsion. The constructive interactions held so far between Brazil and the IAEA and other relevant information are reflected in an objective and impartial manner in the report submitted by DG Grossi to the Board of Governors last May. 

 Naval nuclear propulsion is a legitimate use of nuclear energy, and Brazil is committed to ensuring that its program, developed with indigenous technology, is fully compatible with its non-proliferation undertakings, under the Quadripartite agreement, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Treaty of Tlatelolco, which established the Latin America and the Caribbean nuclear-weapon-free zone.

Madam President,

In a final note, we understand that the concerns of the so-called arealess States have been satisfactorily addressed in the 1999 Amendment to Article VI of the IAEA Statute, which Brazil ratified  in 2007, and  call upon other Member States to follow suit enabling its entry into force.

I thank you.