67TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee)
“Effects of atomic radiation”
General debate
Statement by Counselor Gerardo DIAZ BARTOLOME
Permanent Mission of the Argentine Republic to the United Nations
Mr. Chairman,
The Argentine Republic has been a dynamic Member State of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation since its founding in 1955, by resolution 913 (X) of the General Assembly, working actively in the work of this singular Scientific Committee. We think that this resolution was one of the most important resolutions of the General Assembly on scientific research since it supported international independent research on the global levels and effects of ionizing radiation. In this sense, we must remember that the Committee has had and continues to have a major role in the scientific support for the suspension of nuclear weapons tests.
While reiterating our strong support for the work of the Scientific Committee and its important contribution to understanding the consequences of ionizing radiation, we congratulate it on the report submitted on its 59th session issued as document A/67/46 and under the consideration of the General Assembly, a report which follows the tradition of high scientific level of the Committee's work. Special appreciation to the Germany in its capacity of Chair, who has guided successfully and efficiently the work of the Committee what we recognize and celebrate today.
Mr. Chairman,
The Argentine Delegation fully agrees with the appreciation with which the General Assembly welcomed the scientific report on attributing health effects to radiation exposure and inferring risks, a report that the Assembly had requested the Committee by resolution 62/100 and reiterated in successive resolutions. This report is of vital importance for understanding the epistemology of the effects and risks of low-dose radiations, an issue that has caused much controversy so far. We wish to emphasize that this scientific analysis was carried out by the Scientific Committee in response to a specific formal request of the Argentine Government.
The report contains the preliminary results of the study on the nuclear accident caused by the earthquake and tsunami of great magnitude that occurred in the eastern part of Japan in 2011, known as the Fukushima accident. Argentina has repeatedly expressed its solidarity with the people and authorities of Japan by this disaster and Argentine experts are actively working to help protect the population from the consequences of the accident. In addition to our work on Fukushima in the Special Committee, our experts’ support is channeled mainly through the work of the International Commission on Radiological Protection, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Health Organization, the Scientific Committee Radiation Protection and Public Health of the Nuclear Energy Agency of the OECD.
We are then highly satisfied that the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation has found that, to date, no effects which may be attributable to radiation exposure have been felt neither in the health of workers nor on the health of children or other people. This good news must be underlined.
Mr. Chairman,
The Argentine Delegation would like to mention an important issue for the future of the important contribution made by the Scientific Committee to the work of this General Assembly. We refer to the financial support of the Scientific Committee. We consider that the extra-budgetary contributions made by the Executive Director of United Nations Environment do not solve the problem of long-term financing and that this could also be seen as compromising the integrity and independence of the Scientific Committee. That is why the Argentine Government’s policy has been to make substantive contributions to support the work of the Scientific Committee. We urge the United Nations Environment Programme to strengthen the funding of the Scientific Committee pursuant to paragraph 11 of General Assembly resolution 65/96, a call that is reiterated again by operative paragraph 13 of the draft resolution before us today.
Thank you very much.