IAEA Board of Governors
Extraordinary Meeting
Australian Statement
Dr Katie Mead, Alternate Resident Representative of Australia to the IAEA
11 April 2024
Chair,
Australia condemns recent drone strikes on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and shares the concerns of Director General Grossi and the international community that such acts significantly and recklessly increase the risk of a nuclear incident and they must cease immediately. We thank the Director General for the update provided this afternoon, and commend his continued attention to these developments.
Chair,
The attacks clearly violate several of the five concrete principles that the Director General outlined to the UN Security Council in May last year. They also further undermine the Director General’s seven indispensable pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security during an armed conflict.
The attacks have taken place in the context of Russia’s attempted illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory, which has no validity under international law. Since its invasion, Russia has failed to comply with numerous Board resolutions calling on it to cease all actions against and at nuclear facilities in Ukraine. As we have previously made clear the most effective means of protecting Ukraine’s nuclear infrastructure involves a complete Russian withdrawal from all Ukrainian territory, including the Zaporizhzhia power plant, and allowing Ukrainian authorities to re-establish their access to, and control over, all nuclear sites in Ukraine.
Chair,
Australia commends the Director General for his regular visits to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and the IAEA’s sustained efforts, in difficult and precarious circumstances, to ensure the ongoing safety, security and safeguarding of the site. We call for the IAEA to be provided with unrestricted access to all areas of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to ensure the international community is provided with transparent, independent advice on the safety and security status of the facility as well as the impact of any attacks against the site or its enabling infrastructure. We applaud the IAEA’s continued presence at all five of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities.
Chair,
We reiterate our support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. We continue to call on Russia to withdraw from all Ukrainian territory. We expressly reject any inference that Russia’s request for this meeting lends any legitimacy to its claim of sovereignty over Zaporizhzhia.