The Philippines’ Resident Representative to the IAEA, H.E. Ambassador Lourdes O. Yparraguirre, chaired the Committee of the Whole during the 55^th regular session of the IAEA General Conference held on 19-23 September 2011.

DOST Sec. Montejo delivering Philippine Statement to the 55th IAEA General Conference

Philippine Delegation to the 55th IAEA General Conference led

by Sec. Montejo and Amb. Yparraguirre

The Committee of the Whole is a subsidiary body of the Conference where resolutions that are submitted by delegations of IAEA Member States are negotiated.

Under the chairmanship of Ambassador Yparraguirre, the Committee reached consensus on 22 resolutions, including the sub-items under the resolution on “Strengthening the Agency’s activities related to nuclear science, technology and applications”, items relating to the budget, the Technical Cooperation Fund, personnel matters including staffing of the Agency’s Secretariat and women in the Secretariat, as well as the resolutions relating to Nuclear Security, the Agency’s technical cooperation activities, and strengthening international cooperation in nuclear, radiation, transport and waste safety.

In particular, with the adoption of the Nuclear Safety resolution, the Committee reached consensus in approving the IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety that served as a valuable input to the High Level Meeting on Nuclear Safety and Security that was convened by the UN Secretary General on 22 September 2011 in New York.  This represented the common recognition of IAEA Member States of the need to strengthen global efforts and international cooperation in nuclear safety following the Fukushima accident.

Amb. Yparraguirre chairing the IAEA General Conference Committee of the Whole

Amb. Yparraguirre delivering report of the Committee of the

Whole to the General Conference

The Committee, however, was unable to reach agreement on the resolution dealing with the Agency’s safeguards system.  However, the Conference decided to mandate the Director General to report to the 56^th regular session of the General Conference in September 2012 on the implementation of last year’s resolution on “Strengthening the Effectiveness and Improving the Efficiency of the Safeguards System and Application of the Model Additional Protocol.”

(For more information on the IAEA General Conference, click here.)

The Philippines’ active participation in this year’s General Conference was marked by the attendance of Department of Science and Technology Secretary Mario G. Montejo, who delivered the Philippine statement before the plenary.

Secretary Montejo articulated the Philippine position on the Agency’s response to the Fukushima accident and the strengthening of nuclear safety worldwide.  He also  elaborated on the Philippines’ active cooperation with the IAEA in various nuclear applications, particularly in human health, water and environmental protection,  expressed its strong support for the Agency’s nuclear security program, and emphasized the need to further enhance the Agency’s verification capabilities to enable it to effectively implement a credible system for reducing the risk of nuclear proliferation.  Finally, Secretary Montejo expressed support for the Director General’s efforts to convene a forum in November to discuss the experience of the five existing nuclear weapons free zones that could be of possible relevance to the creation of a nuclear weapon free zone in the Middle East.

(See the complete statement here.)

The Philippine experience in the application of nuclear techniques in water resources management was also discussed during the IAEA Scientific Forum that was held on 20-21 September 2011 at the sidelines of the General Conference.

Philippine delegation meeting with IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano

Ms. Elvira Sombrito delivering her statement at the IAEA Scientific Forum

This year’s Scientific Forum, entitled “Water Matters: Making a Difference with Nuclear Techniques”, dealt with issues relating to water and featured two Filipino scientists.    Mr. Guillermo Q. Tabios III, Director, Institute of Civil Engineering, National Hydraulic Research Center of the Philippines, spoke about isotope hydrology during the panel on “Water Matters: Making Water More Available”.  Ms. Elvira Sombrito, Consultant at the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, spoke on the Philippine experience in tackling harmful algal blooms (red tide) during the panel on “Water Matters: Protecting the Oceans”.  Dr. Jane Gerardo-Abaya, Programme Management Officer at the IAEA’s Department of Technical Cooperation, also served as one of the rapporteurs during the Forum.

(For more information on the IAEA Scientific Forum, click here.)