DYB2011-Part-II-web

United Nations Disarmament Yearbook 2011: Part II
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in April, China proposed a three-phased process leading to the resumption of
the talks. In December, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea reportedly
agreed to suspend its uranium enrichment programme in exchange for food
aid as a precondition for the possible resumption of denuclearization talks,
although the implementation of the agreement was interrupted following the
death of that country’s leader on 17 December.
The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant drew
attention to the need for the international community to strengthen nuclear
safety and security, as well as to further enhance the global radiation
emergency response framework. Following his engagement with the heads
of international organizations and United Nations entities on the response to
the accident, on 20 May, the Secretary-General launched a United Nations
system-wide study on the implications of the accident at the Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear power plant. In June, the IAEA convened the Ministerial
Conference on Nuclear Safety, which resulted in the development by the
IAEA Director General of an Action Plan on Nuclear Safety. 10 In September,
the Secretary-General convened a High-level Meeting on Nuclear Safety and
Security, which built upon the existing efforts of the international community
to enhance nuclear safety and the international emergency preparedness and
response framework.
States continued to make progress to advance their commitments at the
2010 Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C., and to make preparations
for the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit, to be held in Seoul. In July, the
Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and
the Government of the Russian Federation Concerning the Management and
Disposition of Plutonium Designated as No Longer Required for Defense
Purposes and Related Cooperation (Plutonium Management and Disposition
Agreement) and its 2006 and 2010 protocols entered into force. The Agreement
committed each side to dispose of 34 metric tons of plutonium removed from
their nuclear-weapon programmes. A number of States continued to convert
their research reactors to use low-enriched uranium fuel and to repatriate their
stockpiles of highly enriched uranium fuel to the country of origin.
Efforts to address multilateral approaches to the nuclear fuel cycle
continued to focus on advancing mechanisms to ensure the supply of nuclear
fuel for power reactors in the event of non-commercial supply disruptions.
In March, the IAEA Board of Governors approved a proposal by the United
Kingdom for nuclear supply guarantees, which provided a framework for the
establishment of an agreement between a supplier country and a recipient
10 IAEA, document GOV/2011/59-GC(55)/14. Available from http://www.iaea.org/About/
Policy/GC/GC55/Documents/gc55-14.pdf (accessed 21 May 2012). See also IAEA,
“IAEA Nuclear Safety Action Plan Approved by General Conference”, 22 September
2011. Available from http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/2011/actionplan.html
(accessed 21 May 2012).