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New Zealand statement
Thank you Mr Chairman
New Zealand would like to thank the Director General for the report before us on the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Syrian Arab Republic. We would also like to thank DDG Heinonen and the Safeguards team for the excellent technical briefing they provided on the report last week.
Mr Chairman
The Director General’s report raises serious concerns about the lack of cooperation from Syria on all aspects of the Agency’s investigation into outstanding safeguards issues. The report notes that Syria has not cooperated with the Agency since June 2008 in connection with the unresolved issues related to the Dair Alzour site and the other three locations allegedly functionally related to it.
New Zealand notes that Syria has not fully cooperated with the Agency to facilitate the resolution of the issues concerning the Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) since the November 2009 inspection, including a full explanation of the activities and experiments involving nuclear material conducted there. The report also notes that Syria has neither provided design information concerning the irradiation of uranium at the MNSR, nor met its nuclear material reporting obligations under the Safeguards Agreement. We note that Syria has declined the Agency’s request for an inspection on 23 February and that discussions on rescheduling are ongoing. We urge Syria to cooperate in setting an inspection at an early date.
Mr Chairman
New Zealand notes the Director General’s conclusion that the possibility of a link between the particles found at the MNSR and those found at the Dair Alzour site requires further sampling and analysis by the Agency. We also note the report’s conclusion that, given that Syria has no reported inventory of natural uranium, the particles found at both Dair Alzour and MNSR calls into question the completeness and correctness of Syria’s declarations concerning nuclear material and facilities.
New Zealand supports the Director General’s call to urge Syria to bring into force an Additional Protocol to its Safeguards Agreement which will facilitate the Agency’s work in verifying the correctness and completeness of Syria’s declarations. We call on Syria to cooperate on the full range of issues in its nuclear file as soon as possible so that any outstanding issues can be resolved as completely and expeditiously as possible.
[Finally Mr Chairman, New Zealand would support the call by Canada and Australia for the public release of the report on Syria.]
Thank you Mr Chairman
