IAEA Board of Governors
Trilateral Statement on Behalf of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States as Delivered by U. S. Deputy Chief of Mission Louis L. Bono
Agenda Item 7: Transfer of the nuclear materials in the context of AUKUS and its safeguards in all aspects under the NPT
Chair,
Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States are committed to undertaking cooperation under AUKUS in a manner that is fully consistent with our respective non-proliferation obligations and reflects our longstanding leadership in the global non-proliferation regime.
We understand and welcome the interest of Board members in this trilateral effort, and, let me be clear, we welcome any comments. Recalling the comments from earlier today that we should not politicize this Board’s work, I note with irony that this agenda item only serves to politicize the matter and distracts from genuine and pressing issues that demand this Board’s immediate attention. As discussed in the nonpaper we circulated a few days ago, we will provide a substantive update during AOB—the appropriate time for such an update and for any other statements on this issue.
Mr. Chair, just to reiterate and clarify as noted at adoption of the agenda and out of respect for the Board's time, we did not resort to procedural means to block the addition of this agenda item. However, we firmly believe this is not the right place and time for this discussion and I want to make clear under this agenda item that we are strongly opposed to any proposals for a standing agenda item, a special committee, or an intergovernmental process on matters relating to AUKUS. We hope this item can swiftly conclude and that the Board be allowed to turn its focus back to the more pressing matters before us without further delay.