66th Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference
Strengthening the effectiveness and improving the efficiency of Agency safeguards - Trilateral right of reply on behalf of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States
H.E Ambassador Richard Sadleir, Governor and Resident Representative of Australia to the IAEA
30 September 2022
Thank you very much, President.
I take the floor on behalf of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States to respond to comments regarding Australia’s effort to acquire conventionally armed, nuclear powered submarines. I will not address all the mischaracterisations in the statement just made by the representative of China.
We reiterate Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States remain fully in compliance with our respective non-proliferation obligations, as the Director General affirmed in his report on AUKUS, and in his statements to the September meeting of the Board of Governors.
Chair, the Director General’s report clearly demonstrates the IAEA’s satisfaction with our early, open and transparent approach on the safeguards arrangements for nuclear propulsion-related cooperation under AUKUS. Naval nuclear propulsion is fully compatible with Australia’s safeguards commitments and the NPT.
It is important that we operate in the realm of fact. I refer my colleagues to paragraph five of the Director General’s report on AUKUS, which notes that the Board of Governors has previously approved the Director General to implement Australia’s CSA, and the United States and United Kingdom’s respective voluntary offer agreements. The report confirms that our ongoing engagement with the Secretariat on naval nuclear propulsion is taking place pursuant to these agreements, based on long-standing IAEA practice. That is the facts.
We are, and will continue to remain, in full compliance with our obligations.
Thank you, President.