27 November 2003 – Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople hailed the adoption by the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors (IAEA BOG) of Resolution GOV/2003/81 on the Iranian nuclear issue at its meeting in Vienna yesterday.  “This is a positive development in our unflinching efforts to uphold the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT),” Ople said.

“The Philippines is satisfied at the spirit of consensus that emerged in support of the Board’s action pertaining to Iran’s failures to report activities and facilities as mandated in its NPT Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA.  We laud Iran’s decision to suspend its enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, and its decision to sign the Additional Protocol and provisionally implement it, pending its entry into force, as a confidence-building measure to allay the serious concerns of the international community about its nuclear programme,” Ople stressed.

The resolution “strongly deplores Iran’s past failures and breaches of its obligation to comply with the provisions of its Safeguards Agreement, as reported by the Director General,” and “urges Iran to adhere strictly to its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement in both letter and spirit.”

The resolution also mandates the Board of Governors, should any further serious Iranian failures come to light, “to meet immediately to consider all options at its disposal, including referring the matter to the UN Security Council.”

Iran was reported in breach of its safeguards obligations after it was found out by the IAEA that Iran “failed in a number of instances over an extended period of time to meet its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement with respect to the reporting of nuclear material and its processing and use, as well as the declaration of facilities where such material has been processed and stored.”  The findings are to be found in the report of the IAEA Director General Mohamed El Baradei issued on 10 November 2003.

At the same time, however, El Baradei noted that, since the middle of October 2003, a new chapter of implementation of safeguards in Iran seems to have begun, characterized by active cooperation and openness of Iran, and in which “Iran has assured us that it has now committed itself to a policy of full disclosure.”

“The Philippines is hopeful that Iran will be able to resolve all outstanding issues in the spirit of cooperation and full transparency so that the matter will be dealt with in the framework of the Agency.  It is premature to refer the matter to the Security Council until a comprehensive conclusion can be reached,” Ople stated.  The Philippines will assume its seat in the Security Council in January 2004.

Although the Philippines is no longer a member of the Board, its delegation in Vienna participated actively in the consultations that led to the consensus text.  END.