UN: EU Statement on Effects of Atomic Radiation

UN 61st Session; Fourth Committee, Agenda Item 29: Effects of Atomic Radiation, New York, 26 October 2006

Statement by Ms. Heli Kanerva, Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations, on behalf of the European Union

New York, 26 October 2006

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Mr. Chairman,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union.

The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, and the EFTA Countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Moldova and Ukraine align themselves with this declaration.

*) Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

The EU acknowledges the report of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) of its fifty-fourth session held in Vienna in 29 May- 2 June 2006. The report gives a good overview of the work and achievements of UNSCEAR and confirms the status of the Committee as the principal international body in its field. The information compiled and examined by the Committee is indispensable as a basis for drafting national and international standards to protect populations against the effects of atomic radiation. The EU fully supports the Committee in its important task of reviewing the sources and effects of ionizing radiation on human health and the environment, and affirms the continued willingness of its Member States to provide all relevant new information to the Committee for its examination.

Mr. Chairman

This April we commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident. The EU attaches great importance to the studies of the Committee on the long-term health and environmental effects of ionizing radiation, as in the case of the Chernobyl accident, and encourages the Committee to continue this important work.  The EU would also like to acknowledge the participation of the Committee in the work of the Chernobyl Forum.

The EU welcomes the efforts of the Committee to make its findings available to the wider public by presenting its reports at the website of the Committee.

The EU notes with pleasure that observers from the World Health Organisation, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations Environmental Programme, the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements and the International Commission on Radiological Protection attended this year's meeting of the Committee. The EU welcomes and encourages this cooperation and exchange of information between relevant international organisations.

Mr. Chairman,

The EU would like to reiterate its full support for the Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, which on the basis of its scientific authority provides the international community with essential and independent information on a vast array of topics related to the effects of ionising radiation.

The EU notes that, since the 1990s when funding for UNSCEAR was reduced, interest in UNSCEAR's scientific work and the expected future challenges has increased significantly, together with concerns about the whole issue of radiation protection, but that this has not been matched by a commensurate increase in predictable resources for the Committee. The EU looks forward for having discussions in the Committee on this issue next year.

The EU acknowledges that the draft resolution on the Effects of Atomic Radiation addresses the question of the possible enlargement of the membership of the Committee in all its aspects including possible financial implications. A long time has passed since the previous enlargement, and some countries have since then made significant scientific progress in assessing the effects of ionizing radiation.   

Thank you Mr. Chairman.