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11. September 2017

STATEMENT BY DR JOHNNY THABO PITSWANE, DEPUTY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, BOARD OF GOVERNORS, 11 SEPTEMBER 2017, VIENNA

AGENDA ITEM 3(C): CODE OF CONDUCT ON THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF RADIOACTIVE SOURCES: GUIDANCE ON THE MANAGEMENT OF DISUSED RADIOACTIVE SOURCES

Chairperson

South Africa wishes to commend Ambassador Rafael Grossi for his tireless efforts in assisting us to achieve consensus on this important guidance document on the management of disused radioactive sources. It is a true testimony to his vast technical and diplomatic expertise and the continued wisdom that he provides to our work as the Board of Governors. We remain sincerely appreciative of his willingness to have taken up this challenging text.

Chairperson

Indeed, we have much to learn from the manner in which this matter was handled for the purposes of our further actions on similar issues so as to ensure that the “Vienna Spirit” endures. In this regard, it serves to demonstrate to us that more often than not, the process is as important as the outcome. Accordingly, where issues before the Board do not command consensus, it will be important going forward to expend the necessary time and energy to build such consensus, rather than simply forging ahead. In so doing, we will be in a better position to secure the legitimacy of such initiatives that is vital for effective national implementation, which is ultimately what the Board seeks to achieve. Here it is important to recall that as the Board we carry an enormous responsibility to act on behalf of all IAEA Member States and as such we must take into account their collective voices and views in the decisions that we take, concretely illustrating that the IAEA truly belongs to all.

Chairperson

In turning to the substance of the guidance document, South Africa as a significant producer and exporter of radioactive sources has developed the mobile hot cell technology for the conditioning of radioactive sources. Accordingly, we have already endorsed the Code of Conduct on the Safety of Radioactive Sources and its associated Guidance on the Import and Export of Radioactive Sources. We therefore look forward to the harmonisation of this existing initiative with the document that we have just adopted on the management of disused radioactive sources, which will be essential to advancing the international community’s efforts to control radioactive sources.

I thank you.

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