Danish statements

IAEA General Conference 
Vienna 16-20 September 2024
Agenda item 21: ”Transfer of the nuclear materials in the context of AUKUS and its safeguards in all aspects under the NPT”
Statement by Denmark

 
Thank you President,

1. Denmark is fully aligned with the EU statement under this agenda item.
2. Denmark supports the work of the IAEA Secretariat to implement safeguards agreements. It has been authorised to do so, and it is of key importance for the integrity of the non-proliferation regime that is it able to carry out its mandate in that regard without undue pressure.
3. We welcome the information shared by the Secretariat and the AUKUS parties on the ongoing consultations between the Secretariat and Australia. We also welcome the transparency shown by AUKUS parties and their confirmation of their non-proliferation obligations and commitments.
4. We look forward to future reports by the Director General on Naval Nuclear Propulsion as he deems it appropriate.

Thank you, President

68th IAEA General Conference
16 - 20 September 2024
Statement by Denmark
As delivered by Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark

Mr President, 
We congratulate you on your appointment.
Denmark aligns itself with the EU statement. 
Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine has brought nuclear danger to Ukraine. And to all of us. 
A permanent member of the UN Security Council has illegally occupied Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. This has added a new and deplorable dimension to nuclear safety and security. 
IAEA’s mandate to protect and promote nuclear safety and security is therefore more important than ever. Let me be clear: The current risk stems from Russia. We must continue to insist that Russia withdraws from the plant and returns control to the legitimate owners.  
We thank the IAEA and its committed staff for all its efforts to help ensure nuclear safety and security in Ukraine. 
This is key both to protecting Ukraine, but also to the integrity of the nuclear regime worldwide. 
Denmark has contributed financially to this important work.

Mr President, 
Denmark supports the work of the IAEA across the full spectrum of its mandate. 
We welcome the Agency’s contributions to the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology. These will help Member States achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. 
Denmark is pleased to pledge our full share of the Technical Cooperation Fund target for 2025 to foster development and growth. 

Mr President,
We are deeply concerned by the lack of cooperation by Iran with the Agency.
Iran’s continued expansion of its nuclear activities lacks a credible civilian purpose. This is very troubling. 
We condemn the DPRK’s clear failure to comply with its international obligations. And we call for a DPRK completely without nuclear weapons. This must be verifiable and irreversible. 
We call on Russia and all other states to refrain from any military cooperation with the DPRK.

Mr President, 
We look to the Agency to provide standards and guidance on nuclear safety and security. These standards must evolve to keep up with technological and other developments. This is essential for all of us.
We welcome and trust the Agency’s ongoing objective monitoring of the release of treated water from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station. This complements the valuable transparency shown by Japan.
We want the Agency to be able to assist Member States in improving national nuclear security. Denmark is a significant contributor to the Nuclear Security Fund. 
We regret the heavy reliance of the Agency’s work on voluntary contributions. We call for resources to be made available from the regular budget. 

Mr President, 
In the current security environment, we need not less, but more international cooperation. 
I thank the Director General and the dedicated staff of the IAEA for their invaluable contribution to building a safer and more prosperous world. 
Thank you.

IAEA Board of Governors
Vienna 9-13 September 2024
Agenda item 7: Verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015)

Statement by Denmark

Thank you Chair,

1. Denmark fully aligns itself with the EU statement delivered earlier.

2. For over three and a half years, the Agency has been denied the ability to monitor and verify Iran’s implementation of the JCPoA. Iran’s de-designation of particularly experienced inspectors has further hindered the implementation of the Agency’s mandate. The loss of continuity of knowledge about central aspects of Iran’s activities complicates any potential return to the full implementation of the JCPoA. We strongly regret this state of affairs.


3. Despite these hindrances, the IAEA is able to report to us on the continuous expansion of Iran’s nuclear activities. We are strongly concerned that Iran’s nuclear activities are still escalating, especially since there continues to be no plausible civilian explanation for these activities.


4. In particular, we continue to see significant growth in Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. We have also seen continued work to expand the centrifuge infrastructure, and Iran could further increase its production capacity at short notice. In the absence of information about Iran’s production of centrifuge components, it is impossible to know how many additional centrifuges could be added.

5. As the IAEA has pointed out, Iran is the only non-nuclear-weapon State that is producing and stockpiling highly enriched uranium. This makes it all the more crucial that Iran allow the Agency to fully implement its mandate.


6. We strongly support the IAEA and its professional and impartial work to monitor and verify the implementation of the JCPoA as well as Iran’s safeguards obligations. We therefore, once again, urge Iran to resume full implementation of its nuclear commitments, including all transparency measures, to ratify and implement the Additional Protocol and to implement the legally binding modified Code 3.1.  

7. We look forward to the Director General’s continued detailed reporting. 

Thank you, Chair

IAEA Board of Governors
Vienna, 9 – 13 September 2024
Agenda item 8c: NPT Safeguards Agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran

Statement by Denmark

1. Denmark fully aligns itself with the statement delivered on behalf of the European Union.

Chair,

2. Once again we have before us a report which shows a complete lack of progress in resolving safeguards issues. This absence is due to Iran’s failure to provide the necessary cooperation and technically credible information and therefore its failure to act according to its safeguards obligations.

3.  Some of the outstanding issues were first identified as far back as 2019. In the meantime, this Board has adopted four resolutions and has called for urgent action by Iran to fulfil its legal obligations and to clarify and resolve all outstanding safeguards issues.

4. Disappointingly, the situation remains unchanged. A country with a highly developed and advancing nuclear programme, producing and stockpiling vast amounts of enriched uranium for very unclear purposes, in which the IAEA is unable to provide assurance that the nuclear activities are exclusively peaceful. This is not for lack of trying on the part of the Agency and the Director General, whose steadfast efforts and professional work we strongly support. 

5. We are also concerned by the persistence of a discrepancy in Iran’s nuclear material balance, noting that that the amount of nuclear material unaccounted for is greater than previously believed. We fully support the Agency’s efforts to clarify this matter.

6. In addition, Iran still refuses to implement the modified Code 3.1., contrary to its legal obligations.

Chair

7. This situation risks undermining confidence in the safeguards system and, by implication, in the NPT. This cannot be in any of our interests. We urge Iran to comply with its legal obligations and with the Board’s resolutions by engaging fully and transparently with the IAEA without further delay.

8. We join the Director General in expressing hope for a constructive dialogue that swiftly leads to concrete results. This is essential and urgent in order to allow the Agency to confirm the correctness and completeness of Iran’s safeguards declarations. We look forward to continued reporting, including as set out in the Board’s resolution adopted in June.


Thank you Chair

IAEA Board of Governors

Vienna, 12 July 2024

Agenda item: Matters referred to in document GOV/2024/47

Statement by Denmark

Thank you Chair,

1. Denmark fully aligns itself with the EU statement delivered this morning.

    

2. The devastating attack on the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv this week is one more example of the brutality of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Denmark condemns this inhumane act and all violations of international law, including international humanitarian law.

    

3. In this Board, we are particularly concerned since the hospital has received support through two IAEA Technical Cooperation projects designed to enhance cancer treatment, radiation therapy and medical imaging.

    

4. Denmark has provided bilateral support in the shape of one emergency generator for this hospital. The need for emergency generators illustrates the effects of Russia’s continuous attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, particularly its energy infrastructure. As the IAEA has repeatedly pointed out, these attacks also constitute a risk to the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants.

    

5. We have noted the information provided by Ukraine that there were no radioactive sources in the hospital at the time of the attack, and that there is no radioactive hazard despite the damage to the hospital’s Radiology Centre. Nonetheless, we are concerned about the potential consequences of Russia’s war for the security of radiological sources in Ukraine, and we support the IAEA’s efforts to provide assistance in this regard.

    

6. In view of the devastating effects of the Russian attack on a children’s hospital and the particular relevance of IAEA support in these circumstances, we support the draft resolution tabled by Ukraine.

    

   Chair

    

7. Ensuring accountability for all crimes committed in connection with Russia’s war of aggression remains paramount for achieving the just and lasting peace that Ukraine deserves. We will continue to do everything within our power to hold Russia fully accountable for all war crimes and other violations of international law.

    

8. Once again, we urge the Russian Federation to immediately cease its targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, to put an end to its war of aggression by withdrawing fully and unconditionally from Ukraine, and to adhere to its obligations under international law. Denmark’s support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity is unwavering.

IAEA Board of Governors
Vienna, 3-7 June 2024
Agenda item 7: Nuclear safety, security and safeguards in Ukraine

Statement by Denmark

Thank you Chair,

1. Denmark fully aligns itself with the EU statement delivered earlier.

2. The IAEA continues to assess the situation at the ZNPP as precarious with regard to nuclear safety and security. The report makes clear the risk of further degradation over time of the Plant’s safety given the serious challenges related to its power supply, staffing, maintenance of safety systems, reliability of supply chains and on-site emergency arrangements. 

3. These continuing challenges are in addition to the very concerning breach of the Five concrete principles for protecting the ZNPP reported in April, which further heightened our fears for the safety of the plant.

4. The situation at the ZNPP is in striking contrast to the other Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plants, which the Director General reports continue to operate safely and securely despite the challenging circumstances. This contrast underlines the fundamental truth that it is the illegal Russian seizure of the ZNPP, which has created the precarious situation described in the report. Russia is endangering not only Ukraine, but also the surrounding countries and creating risks with global implications.

5. Let me also take this opportunity to express our serious concern regarding possible plans to restart reactors at the ZNPP. This would be a highly irresponsible act.

Chair, 

6. We continue to demand that Russia comply with international law and the calls of this Board and the General Conference. It must reverse its invasion by fully withdrawing its forces, other personnel and all military equipment from the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant and the entire territory of Ukraine. We wholly reject Russia’s claims of ownership of the ZNPP, and indeed so does the international community. The UN General Assembly has condemned Russia’s attempted illegal annexation of Ukraine’s regions and made clear that Russia’s claims are illegitimate. We are seriously concerned by Russia’s attempts, reflected in the report, to create facts on the ground to the contrary.

Chair

7. Denmark fully supports the Agency’s efforts to help ensure nuclear safety and security in Ukraine, at the request of the Ukrainian authorities and we have made a voluntary financial contribution to this work.

8. However, to reap the full benefit of the IAEA’s presence at the ZNPP, the Mission must have unhindered access at the plant and to the people working there. We are concerned to read that the Team continues to face access restrictions impeding its efforts to monitor observance of the five concrete principles and assess the Seven Pillars. 

At the Board meeting in April we heard from the Russian Federation that “the Russian Federation needed to introduce specific limitations on the movements of the Agency staff at the plant”, in order to protect their safety. We do wonder: What is so dangerous on the rooftops of unit 1 and 5 – but not, apparently, other units? And what is so dangerous in the western parts of the turbine halls that it prevents granting the IAEA team access to those specific areas?

9. In closing, Chair, I would like to reiterate my country’s full and unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders. 


Thank you

IAEA Board of Governors
Vienna 3-7 June 2024
Agenda item 5: Verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015)

Statement by Denmark

Thank you Chair,

1. Denmark fully aligns itself with the EU statement delivered earlier.

2. Once again, the report before us shows a worsened situation with regard to Iran’s nuclear programme. We are not surprised by this, but we are strongly concerned that Iran’s nuclear activities are still escalating, especially since there continues to be no plausible civilian explanation for these activities.

3. In particular, during this reporting period, we have seen significant growth in Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. We have also seen continued work on centrifuge infrastructure, so that Iran could increase its production capacity at short notice.

4. It is a matter of strong regret that the Agency, for more than three years, has been denied the monitoring and verification capabilities foreseen in the JCPoA. Iran’s decision to withdraw the designation of several experienced Agency inspectors only serves to increase our concerns with regard to the Agency’s ability to conduct its verification activities in Iran effectively. As the IAEA has pointed out, Iran is the only non-nuclear-weapon State that is producing and stockpiling highly enriched uranium. This makes it all the more crucial that Iran allow the Agency to fully implement its mandate.

5. The report again makes clear that the IAEA has irretrievably lost continuity of knowledge as regards several aspects of Iran’s activities, including its production and inventory of centrifuges. This further complicates any potential return to the full implementation of the JCPoA. We strongly regret this.

6. I reiterate Denmark’s full support for the IAEA and its professional and impartial work to monitor and verify the implementation of the JCPoA as well as Iran’s safeguards obligations. We therefore, once again, strongly urge Iran to resume full implementation of its nuclear commitments, including all transparency measures, to ratify and implement the Additional Protocol and to implement the legally binding modified Code 3.1.  

7. We look forward to the Director General’s continued detailed reporting. 

Thank you, Chair

IAEA Board of Governors
Vienna, 3-7 June 2024
Agenda item 6(b) 
 
Nuclear verification: The Safeguards Implementation Report for 2023 

Statement by Denmark

Thank you Chair,
Denmark fully aligns itself with the statement delivered on behalf of the EU. Allow me to make some short points in my national capacity:

Firstly, we welcome this report which comprehensively sets out the IAEA’s crucial safeguards implementation work. This work is essential to ensure compliance with the NPT and to the maintenance of international security. We are pleased that the report demonstrates the Agency’s professional approach to its mandate and the drawing of safeguards conclusions on the basis of all safeguards-relevant information. We fully support the Agency in its development, refinement and implementation of state-level safeguards approaches, designed to better focus efforts on the attainment of relevant safeguards objectives.

Secondly, we join other delegations in underlining the importance of states providing the Agency with the necessary tools to reach its conclusions. We call on all states with Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements to conclude and implement Additional Protocols. We also urgently call on states with Small Quantities Protocols based on the outdated text to rescind or amend these in order to remove a weakness in the safeguards system. It would be very unfortunate if the Agency were unable to reach conclusions in the coming years. 
Thirdly, we thank the Agency’s staff and in particular its safeguards inspectors who perform a demanding job, sometimes in very difficult circumstances. In that regard, we strongly value the fact that the Agency was able to conduct its safeguards work in Ukraine despite Russia’s illegal war of aggression and draw a conclusion. It is key for all member states to facilitate the work of the inspectors, including by providing timely and unimpeded access and ensuring the designation of sufficient and highly qualified inspectors.  

Finally, let me thank the Director General for including a section on Naval Nuclear Propulsion in the Report. We welcome the confirmation that the Agency is consulting States concerned to put in place relevant arrangements and safeguards approaches. This is in line with the Agency’s mandate and with what is foreseen in the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement. We are confident that all parties will ensure that arrangements are made to enable the IAEA to meet its technical objectives. 

Thank you, Chair 

IAEA Board of Governors
Vienna, 3-7 June 2024
Agenda item 6e: NPT Safeguards Agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran

Statement by Denmark

1. Denmark fully aligns itself with the statement delivered on behalf of the European Union.

Chair,

2. In November 2022, 18 months ago, Denmark voted in favour of a Board resolution, which determined that it was essential and urgent that Iran fulfil its legal obligations and cooperate with the IAEA in order to clarify all outstanding safeguards issues. Other colleagues will recall action taken by the Board as far as four years back to the same end. 

3. Nonetheless, the Agency has been unable to make substantive progress for all this time, because Iran has not complied with those resolutions. In fact, additional safeguards issues have arisen in the meantime.

4. This leaves us with a country with a highly developed and advancing nuclear programme, producing and stockpiling vast amounts of enriched uranium for very unclear purposes, in which the IAEA is unable to provide assurance that the nuclear activities are exclusively peaceful. This is not for lack of trying on the part of the Agency and the Director General, whose steadfast efforts and professional work we strongly support. 

5. Instead, it is due to a continued lack of Iranian cooperation and compliance with Board resolutions, and even due to lack of implementation of legally binding obligations by Iran. As the Director General points out, Iranian signals regarding a technical capability to produce nuclear weapons and possible changes to its nuclear doctrine only serves to increase existing concerns even further.

6. We regret that the most recent engagement of the Director General did not lead to the desired results. There has been plenty of time to make progress on the implementation of the Joint Statement agreed as far back as March last year. Yet no date has been set for a further engagement. 

Chair,

7. This situation risks undermining confidence in the safeguards system and, by implication, in the NPT. This cannot be in any of our interests. For this reason, and to support the continued efforts of the Director General, my country supports the resolution tabled before us. We fully agree with the clear message it sends to Iran to comply with its safeguards obligations and all relevant Board resolutions and to cooperate with the IAEA as required without further delay.

Thank you Chair.

International Conference on Nuclear Security: Shaping the Future, 20-24 May 2024, Vienna

Statement by Denmark

As delivered by Ambassador Christian Grønbech-Jensen, Resident Representative

Co-Presidents

Let me begin by congratulating you on your role today and thanking you, your representatives, and the IAEA Secretariat for all the work that has gone into this important Conference. While we regret that one state did not join consensus on a Ministerial Declaration, Denmark is aligned with the Co-Presidents’ Declaration issued.

Denmark aligns itself with the statement delivered on behalf of the European Union.

Co-Presidents

Since the last ICONS in 2020, our perspective on nuclear security has shifted significantly. Then, we did not imagine that Europe’s largest nuclear power plant would be forcibly removed from the control of the legitimate authorities. Russia’s illegal war of aggression and seizure of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has – among so many other deplorable effects – deprived Ukraine of its ability to fully ensure nuclear security.

We welcome the efforts by the IAEA to assist Ukraine in this regard and have been pleased to contribute financially to this work. Denmark also fully supports the Joint Statement on nuclear security in Ukraine. Further, we welcome the Agency’s ongoing analysis of the impact of armed conflict on the application of Agency nuclear security guidance, although we deplore the circumstances that have necessitated it.

Co-Presidents

Any incident affecting nuclear security has the potential to have cross-border impact. For this reason, Denmark naturally has a strong interest in promoting nuclear security worldwide although we do not ourselves have nuclear power plants. We regard it as crucial that nuclear and radiological material is covered by the highest level of security whether it is in use, storage or transportation, and thus we ourselves strive to achieve the highest level of security for nuclear and radiological material in use, storage or during transport through Denmark as well as under transport on Danish vessels around the world.

Because of the global nature of nuclear security considerations, bilateral, regional and international cooperation to prevent, detect and respond to threats is crucial. The IAEA provides the central platform for coordination and cooperation. The Agency also has a key role to play in guidance development, advisory services and capacity building for Member States. The new IAEA Nuclear Security Training and Demonstration Centre will complement existing efforts, and Denmark is pleased to be among the donors to the Centre.

We live in a time of rapid technological change. New technologies bring us many advantages, but also evolving challenges. Our legal and practical frameworks need to evolve, including to address new reactor types. Work through the IAEA to adapt to new technologies and to increase synergies, such as those between nuclear security and nuclear safety considerations, is central to this. With its strong profile in the promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear technology, the IAEA is also ideally placed to develop nuclear security and safety as enablers of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, including to attain the Sustainable Development Goals.

For these reasons, Denmark has been a steadfast contributor to the IAEA Nuclear Security Fund since 2007. In making our contributions we aim for multi-year, non-earmarked funding to allow the IAEA to make the best possible use of these resources. At the same time, we are concerned by the heavy reliance of the Agency’s nuclear security work on voluntary contributions. We do not consider this funding model sustainable and therefore not adequate for such a core Agency task. We call for adequate resources for nuclear security from the regular budget.

Co-Presidents

It is of great importance that the international legal framework for nuclear security is adequate in the face of a likely growing number of nuclear reactors as well as challenges created by factors such as technology change and climate change. We welcome the holding in 2022 of the first Conference of the Parties to the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material. It will be important to ensure that the preparations for the next Conference enable a thorough discussion of the dynamic developments in the field and a review of how to address them. This week’s impressive scientific and technical programme can contribute to this process.

Co-Presidents

As we face fundamental challenges to international peace and security and to international law, we must seek opportunities to promote rules-based cooperation and global development. Given the role that strong nuclear security can play to foster cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, we are convinced that this Conference, and the IAEA’s work on nuclear security more generally, will make a valuable contribution in that regard.

Thank you, Co-Presidents

IAEA Board of Governors
Agenda item 7: Nuclear safety, security and safeguards in Ukraine
Statement by Denmark

Vienna, 4-8 March 2024

Thank you Chair,

1. Denmark fully aligns itself with the EU statement delivered earlier.

2. The IAEA continues to assess the situation at the ZNPP as very precarious with regard to nuclear safety and security. The report makes clear the risk of further degradation over time of the Plant’s safety given the serious challenges related to its staffing, maintenance of safety systems and reliability of supply chains. This is in sharp contrast to the other Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plants, which the Director General reports continue to operate safely and securely despite the challenging circumstances. This contrast underlines the fundamental truth that it is the illegal Russian seizure of the ZNPP, two years ago this week, which has created the precarious situation described in the report. A situation that poses an unacceptable risk of grave consequences not only in Ukraine and the surrounding countries, but globally.

3. Let me also take this opportunity to express our serious concern regarding possible plans to restart reactors at the ZNPP. This would be a highly irresponsible act.

Chair, 

4. We continue to demand that Russia comply with international law and the calls of this Board and the General Conference. It must reverse its invasion by fully withdrawing its forces, other personnel and all military equipment from the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant and the entire territory of Ukraine. We fully reject Russia’s claims of ownership of the ZNPP. Russia flooding us with notes to the contrary does not affect Ukraine’s legitimate rights.

5. Denmark fully supports the Agency’s efforts to help ensure nuclear safety and security in Ukraine, at the request of the Ukrainian authorities. We have made a voluntary financial contribution to this work, and we are grateful for the Agency’s determined implementation of a programme of assistance for Ukraine, including its sustained presence at the country’s nuclear sites. 

6. However, to reap the full benefit of the IAEA’s presence, it is essential that the Mission has unhindered access at the plant and to the people working there. Otherwise, the Agency will be unable to provide its valuable reporting to the international community on a fully informed basis. We are concerned that the Director General still has to stress the importance of providing the Agency’s staff with timely access and information relevant to nuclear safety and security in order to monitor observance of the five concrete principles and assess the Seven Pillars. It is particularly concerning to read that access is being prevented to areas at the ZNPP guarded by armed troops. 

Chair,

7. Despite these difficult circumstances, we are pleased that the Agency has been able to continue its safeguards work in accordance with Ukraine’s safeguards agreement and the established plans. We welcome the finding that there are no indications that would give rise to proliferation concerns.

8. In closing, I reiterate my country’s full and unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders. We also support the draft resolution tabled by Ukraine and urge Russia to comply with it without further delay.

Thank you, Chair

IAEA Board of Governors
Agenda item 6c: NPT Safeguards Agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran
Statement by Denmark

Vienna, 4-8 March 2024

IAEA Board of Governors
Agenda item 5: Verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015)
Statement by Denmark

Vienna, 4-8 March 2024

Thank you Chair,

1. Denmark fully aligns itself with the EU statement delivered earlier.

2. Once again the Board has before it a report which details an escalating and highly proliferation-sensitive Iranian nuclear programme. The fact that Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium has been reduced does not change this description. A reduction due to downblending does not affect Iran’s capacity to replenish its stockpile. In fact, we have seen a significant increase in Iran’s production of Highly Enriched Uranium during this reporting period. Iran’s enrichment-related infrastructure, including the number of centrifuges installed, also continues to grow, despite the absence of any plausible civilian purpose.

3. In the light of the magnitude of Iran’s nuclear activities, we are strongly concerned that Iran has, for three years, denied to the IAEA the monitoring and verification capabilities foreseen in the JCPoA. Iran’s decision to withdraw the designation of several experienced Agency inspectors only serves to increase our concerns as regards the Agency’s ability to conduct its verification activities in Iran effectively. We are disappointed that the announced Iranian exploration of possibilities to address this issue have not borne fruit and note that the Director General describes a reversal of the de-designation decisions as essential for effective verification. 

Chair,

4. The report makes clear that the IAEA has irretrievably lost continuity of knowledge as regards several aspects of Iran’s activities, including its production and inventory of centrifuges. This further complicates any potential return to the full implementation of the JCPoA. We strongly regret this.


5. I wish to reiterate Denmark’s strong support for the IAEA and its professional and impartial work to monitor and verify the implementation of the JCPoA as well as Iran’s safeguards obligations. Iran’s decisions, however, limit the effectiveness of this work. We therefore, once again, strongly urge Iran to resume full implementation of its nuclear commitments, including all transparency measures, among which is the Additional Protocol. It is crucial that the IAEA be enabled to take all verification measures it deems necessary given the extent and expanding character of Iran’s nuclear programme. 


6. We look forward to the Director General’s continued detailed reporting. These reports are crucial to provide the international community with assurances about the nature of the Iranian nuclear programme. Such assurances require the full implementation of Iran’s safeguards obligations, including the legally binding modified Code 3.1, and full cooperation with the IAEA. 

Thank you, Chair

IAEA Board of Governors
Nuclear Security Review 2024 
Statement by Denmark

Vienna, 4-8 March 2024

Thank you Chair,
Denmark fully aligns itself with the statement delivered on behalf of the EU. Allow me to make three short additional points in my national capacity:

Firstly, the Agency’s work and central coordinating role in Nuclear Security is a priority for us. Guidance and support offered to Member States play an important role in ensuring that we can make full use of nuclear technology, including for attaining the Sustainable Development Goals. Given the risks and challenges associated with nuclear energy, it is crucial that the exploitation of its potential be accompanied by robust nuclear and radiological security measures. In addition, as the Review makes clear, the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine has further highlighted the importance of maintaining nuclear security also during armed conflict. For these reasons, my government is pleased to contribute financially to both the Nuclear Security Fund and the IAEA’s activities in Ukraine. We look forward to the upcoming ICONS as an opportunity for all Member States to confirm their support for nuclear security and the Agency’s work in this field.

Secondly, the Agency’s work on nuclear security continues to be reliant on voluntary contributions, in our view overly so. The fact that expenditure was higher than revenue in 2022 and 2023 indicates the unpredictable nature of the NSF. We welcome the Secretariat’s work to engage with donors in order to better align contributions to programmatic areas requiring funding. Denmark’s contributions to the NSF remain flexible and multi-year to support these efforts. Nonetheless, increasing funds from the Regular Budget would be more sustainable and predictable. We note with satisfaction that the Agency has further strengthened the results-based approach in its planning, implementation and monitoring, and performance assessment.

Thirdly, as a donor to the Nuclear Security Training and Demonstration Centre, we welcome the successful beginning of its operations. We note that the running of the Centre will require substantial resources every year, all from voluntary contributions. We hope that the training activities to be conducted will help further increase the share of women among the participants in Agency training events. The current figure of around one quarter shows the need for a continued focus on this goal. 

Thank you, Chair 

Statement by Denmark: Nuclear safety, security and safeguards in Ukraine

Statement by Denmark: NPT Safeguards Agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran

Vienna, 22 - 24 November 2023

You can read the statement here

Statement by Denmark: Verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015)

Vienna, 22 - 24 November 2023

You can read the statement here

Statement by Denmark at the IAEA General Conference

Vienna, 25 – 29 September 2023

You can read the statement here 

Joint Statement on NPT Safeguards Agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran

IAEA Board of Governors
September 2023

Thank you Chair.

I am delivering this statement on behalf of a group of 63 member states from all regional groups including all EU member states.

These 63 states are: Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, and Yemen.

We express our sincere appreciation for the continued professional and impartial efforts of the Agency to implement Iran’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement. We commend the Director General for his extensive efforts to engage Iran regarding the outstanding safeguards issues and implementation of further verification and monitoring activities by the Agency. We note that the Director General has further reiterated that the outstanding safeguards issues stem from Iran’s obligations under its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and need to be resolved for the Agency to be in a position to provide credible assurance regarding the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme. We echo the Director General’s request that Iran work with the Agency in earnest and in a sustained way towards the fulfilment of the commitments contained in the March 4 Joint Statement.

Recalling this Board’s resolution contained in GOV/2022/70, which was adopted on 17 November 2022, we collectively highlight the contents of the Director General’s latest report contained in GOV/2023/43. This report concludes once again that the safeguards issues related to possible undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran remain outstanding due to insufficient cooperation by Iran, and moreover that new issues related to Iran’s implementation of its NPT-required safeguards agreement have arisen. In addition, despite signs in June that Iran was making limited progress towards implementation of the Joint Statement with the IAEA, we share the Director General’s regret that no progress has been made since. Iran’s de-designation of experienced Agency inspectors and denials of visas for Agency officials run counter to the Joint Statement and undermine the Agency’s ability to carry out its safeguards mandate.

We reiterate that the Board has adopted three resolutions on safeguards issues over four years as a result of the Agency’s calls for better co-operation by Iran. We recall that the resolution adopted last November by the Board of Governors decided it was and it is essential and urgent that Iran act to fulfill its legal obligations and, with a view to clarifying all outstanding safeguards issues, take the following actions without delay:

1. Provide technically credible explanations for the presence of uranium particles of anthropogenic origin at three undeclared locations in Iran;
2. Inform the Agency of the current location(s) of the nuclear material and/or of the contaminated equipment;
3. Provide all information, documentation, and answers the Agency requires for that purpose; and
4. Provide access to locations and material the Agency requires for that purpose, as well as for the taking of samples as deemed appropriate by the Agency.

We note that over the past ten months Iran still has not provided technically credible explanations for the presence of uranium particles of anthropogenic origin found by the Agency at undeclared locations in Iran. We underline that the Director General has reported once again that “the outstanding safeguards issues[…] need to be resolved for the Agency to be in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful”. Collectively, we underscore the urgent need for Iran to clarify and resolve these issues in a manner satisfactory to the IAEA. Iran must provide technically credible answers to the IAEA, as required by its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, in order to address the Agency’s legitimate questions on the outstanding locations, and to resolve the nuclear material discrepancy relating to its Uranium Conversion Facility. As noted in the Board’s November Resolution, when the Secretariat is in a position to report the safeguards issues as no longer outstanding as a result of Iran’s provision of technically credible information, it would remove the need for the Board’s consideration and action on these issues.
In addition, like all other states with a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, and as the Director General’s report notes, Iran’s implementation of modified Code 3.1 is a legal obligation for Iran under the Subsidiary Arrangements to its Safeguards Agreement. Iran therefore is obligated to provide design information as soon as the decision is made to construct, or authorize construction of, a nuclear facility. Iran must provide the required information regarding new nuclear facilities without further delay. This is essential to ensure not only the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme, but also the effectiveness and efficiency of the Agency’s safeguards system on which we all rely for the nonproliferation assurance that is key to international security.

We call upon Iran to act immediately to fulfil its legal obligations to address the following issues identified by the Director General:

1. The outstanding safeguards issues in relation to nuclear material detected at undeclared locations in Iran, including informing the Agency of the current location(s) of nuclear material and/or contaminated equipment;
2. The discrepancy in the amount of nuclear material verified by the Agency at the Esfahan Uranium Conversion Facility (originating from the Jabr Ibn Hayan Laboratories), compared to the amount declared by Iran; and
3. Iran’s implementation of modified Code 3.1 of the Subsidiary Arrangements to its Safeguards Agreement, including the provision of the required early design information.

We would like to thank the IAEA for its impartial and professional work on this issue. We request the Director General to continue to report to the Board of Governors on this issue.

Statement by Denmark on Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguards

IAEA Board of Governors
Vienna, 11 - 15 September 2023

Thank you Chair

1. Denmark is fully aligned with the EU statement delivered yesterday.

    

2. For a year now, the IAEA has been present at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, at the request of the rightful Ukrainian authorities. We are grateful for and fully supportive of the Agency’s efforts to help ensure nuclear safety and security in Ukraine. A nuclear accident would not only have grave consequences in Ukraine and the surrounding countries, but would also have severe global repercussions.

    

3. Let us be clear: these risks result from Russia’s illegal seizure of the plant and from its unjustified war of aggression on a sovereign neighbouring country. These are the reasons that all seven pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security during an armed conflict continue to be compromised. These are the reasons for the highly precarious situation reported by the Director General.

    

4. Therefore, the way to end the current threat to nuclear safety and security in Ukraine is quite straightforward: Russia must comply with international law and the calls of this Board and reverse its invasion by fully withdrawing its forces, other personnel and all military equipment from the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant and the entire territory of Ukraine thereby ending its illegal war.

   Chair

    

5. The Director General has repeatedly stressed the need for full and timely IAEA access to all locations at the Plant. We are concerned that the IAEA experts have not been allowed to access certain reactor rooftops or turbine halls, preventing the IAEA from fully assessing, at one time, the possible presence of items in contravention of the five principles the DG established in May. We strongly support the calls for the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission team to be enabled to carry out its functions unhindered. This is the basis for the valuable information that the IAEA provides to the international community.

    

6. We look forward to the Director General continuing to keep the Board of Governors informed of the situation and of the IAEA’s continuous observations.

    

7. Let me once again express our gratitude and support both to the personnel in Ukraine’s nuclear facilities, especially the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, who work under such enormous pressure, and to the IAEA teams who support them on the ground. We also thank the IAEA for its safeguards work in accordance with the established plans and welcome the finding that there are no indications that would give rise to proliferation concerns.

    

8. After listening yesterday to a very long statement, I cannot end without reiterating my country’s full support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.

Thank you, Chair

Statement by Denmark on verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015)

IAEA Board of Governors
Vienna, 11 - 15 September 2023

Thank you Chair,

1. Denmark aligns itself with the EU statement delivered earlier.

2. Once again the Board has before it a report, which details an escalating and highly proliferation-sensitive Iranian nuclear programme. Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium, including highly enriched uranium continue to grow as does its enrichment capacity, despite the absence of any plausible civilian purpose.

3. It is all the more concerning that Iran continues to deny to the IAEA the monitoring and verification capabilities foreseen in the JCPoA. Moreover, this is occurring at a time when the Agency is unable to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful.

4. The report makes clear that the IAEA has irretrievably lost continuity of knowledge as regards several aspects of Iran’s activities and that any attempt to establish a new baseline would be very challenging and involve significant uncertainty. This further complicates any potential return to the full implementation of the JCPoA. We strongly regret this. 

5. We therefore once again - as in previous board meetings – strongly urge Iran to cooperate with the Agency and enable it to conduct all verification necessary in light of the magnitude of Iran’s nuclear activity. This includes allowing the Agency to install surveillance and monitoring equipment as requested and providing access to the resulting data. It should also include allowing the Agency to deploy its most skilled and experienced inspectors and providing visa to Agency staff.

6. I wish to reiterate Denmark’s strong support for the IAEA and its professional and impartial work to monitor and verify the implementation of the JCPoA as well as Iran’s safeguards obligations. Iran’s decisions, however, limit the effectiveness of this work. We therefore, once again, strongly urge Iran to resume full implementation of its nuclear commitments, including all transparency measures, among which is the Additional Protocol, as well as the agreements reflected in the March Joint Statement. 

7. We look forward to the Director General’s continued detailed reporting. These reports are crucial to provide the international community with assurances about the nature of the Iranian nuclear programme. Such assurances, however, require the full implementation of Iran’s safeguards obligations, including modified Code 3.1, and full cooperation with the IAEA. 

Thank you, Chair

Statement by Denmark on NPT Safeguards Agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran

IAEA Board of Governors
Vienna, 11 - 15 September 2023

Thank you Chair,

1. Denmark aligns itself with the EU statement delivered under this agenda item as well as with the statement delivered by XX on behalf of a broad group of countries. Therefore I will be brief.
   
   
2. Denmark shares the regret expressed by the Director General that there has been no progress either in resolving longstanding safeguards issues or in advancing the implementation of the March Joint Statement.
   
   
3. This lack of progress means that our strong concern with Iran’s failure to provide technically credible explanations for the presence of uranium particles at undeclared locations and the Agency’s ensuing inability to confirm the correctness and completeness of Iran’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement declarations is unabated. More than four years and many board meetingsafter the emergence of these issues, they remain unresolved.
   
   
4. Let us be clear: The outstanding issues stem from Iran’s legally binding obligations. For the sake of the international non-proliferation regime, all states must fulfil their safeguards obligations. For a country producing and accumulating large quantities of highly enriched uranium, moreover without a credible civilian purpose, not to do so is of particular concern.
   
   
5. Moreover, modified Code 3.1 also constitutes a legal obligation, and no country can simply choose to unilaterally suspend it.
   
   
6. New developments highlighted in the current report add to our concerns. The de-designation of experienced inspectors makes it more difficult for the IAEA to implement its safeguards mandate. Equally, not issuing visas to Agency staff sends a worrying signal about Iran’s true intentions when it comes to cooperating with the Agency.
   Chair
7. The Board’s most recent resolution was adopted last November, 10 months ago. Yet it is clear from the report that Iran has failed to take the steps necessary to implement that resolution. Once again, Denmark urges Iran to comply fully and without further delay with its obligations and to cooperate in good faith with the Agency in the implementation of the commitments contained in the Joint Statement. Iran has already worn the patience of the international community very thin.. It would be crucial for Iran to contribute to building confidence in the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities by providing the Agency with the access, the information and the cooperation necessary for the Agency to draw a conclusion in this regard.
   
   
8. Let me end by commending the IAEA, the Director General and the Safeguards Department for their continued professional and impartial efforts to implement safeguards in Iran in line with standard practise. We fully support them and look forward to their continued reporting.

Thank you Chair

Statement by Denmark at the first Preparatory Committee for the 11th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)

Vienna, 31 July – 11 August 2023

Chair,

1. Denmark fully aligns itself with the statement on behalf of the European Union as well as with the statement on behalf of the Vienna Group of Ten.

2. We congratulate you, Chair, on your appointment. We thank you for the thorough preparations for our meeting and assure you of our full support.

3. We meet less than a year after the last Review Conference, whose outcome, regrettably, was blocked by Russia. It is even more regrettable that the circumstances that lead to that result – the illegal and abhorrent Russian war on Ukraine – continue to blight the international security environment and the maintenance of effective multilateralism. 

4. We remain, however, deeply committed to the NPT and its three pillars. We fully support efforts to uphold and strengthen the non-proliferation and disarmament regime with the NPT at its core. This requires renewed efforts to strive for full implementation of the obligations and commitments entailed by the NPT and for its universalisation. In the face of current challenges, this may seem a daunting task, but there is no adequate alternative if we wish to maintain the security and development gains the Treaty provides.

Chair,

5. Denmark would like to see a world without nuclear weapons develop. There are valuable steps that can be taken to move in that direction. These include work on risk reduction, increased transparency and on nuclear disarmament verification. 

6. We also support the ongoing efforts to promote the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. We warmly welcome the impressive number of new signatures and ratifications that have been achieved and continue to call on the remaining Annex II states to ratify the Treaty and enable its entry into force.

7. Another important step would be the commencement and early conclusion of negotiations on a Treaty banning the production of fissile material for use in nuclear weapons or other explosive devices. Pending a future FMCT in force, we call on China and all States concerned to declare and uphold an immediate moratorium on the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. 

8. While we fully support such steps being taken and believe they can help pave the way towards nuclear disarmament, the current environment is not conducive to swift progress. Russia’s continued use of escalatory nuclear rhetoric, its decision to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus, and its announcement of suspending its participation in the New START Treaty all add to the dangers created by its illegal attack on a sovereign neighbouring state and its evident disrespect for international law.

9. We are also concerned by China’s actions to expand its nuclear arsenal, which run counter to the obligations entailed in Article VI.

Chair, 

10. The world also faces several serious nuclear proliferation issues challenging the international security architecture. The DPRK continues to develop its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile programmes in blatant violation of multiple Security Council resolutions. Iran is expanding its capability to enrich uranium and its stockpiles, escalating its violations of limits established by the JCPoA. 

11. At the same time, Russia’s war in Ukraine has created previously unseen risks to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, challenging our existing nuclear safety and security framework.

12. In all these fields, we underline our solid support for the work of the IAEA. The IAEA safeguards system is the best bulwark we have against nuclear proliferation and must be as strong as possible. For this reason, we reiterate our call for the universalisation of safeguards agreements and particularly the Additional Protocol as the current NPT standard. The IAEA’s work on nuclear safety and security is key to creating conditions for the responsible peaceful use of nuclear energy. We welcome the IAEA’s activities supporting Member States in their efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals as well as Member States’ efforts through the Peaceful Uses Initiative and the Sustained Dialogue on Peaceful Uses of nuclear energy, science, and technology. Finally, we stress our support for multilateral export control regimes, especially the Zangger Committee and the NSG, which help us all live up to our obligations under Article III as well as Article IV.

Chair,

13. The menu of challenges is long and wide. Denmark stands ready to contribute to the work of this Committee, as we all strive to strengthen the implementation of the NPT and uphold the multilateral architecture in the face of those challenges.

Statement by Denmark on Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguards in Ukraine

IAEA Board of Governors
Vienna, 5 – 9 June 2023

Chair,

1. Denmark is fully aligned with the EU statement delivered earlier.
   
   
2. The situation regarding nuclear safety and security in Ukraine remains of grave concern as a result of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified full-scale invasion of a sovereign neighbouring country. All seven pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security during an armed conflict continue to be compromised at all times, as the Director General’s report shows.
   
   
3. In this precarious situation, we welcome and support the establishment of the five IAEA principles to help ensure nuclear safety and security at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant and we thank the Director General and the IAEA for their tireless efforts leading up to this point.
   
   
4. The IAEA will monitor the implementation of these principles, and the Support and Assistance Mission team should be fully enabled to do so, having access to all areas of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. We expect and look forward to the Director General keeping the Board of Governors informed of the situation and of the IAEA’s continuous observations.
   
   
5. The horrifying destruction of the Kakhovka Dam underlines once again the need for protecting structures essential to the safe operation of ZNPP from attacks, in line with the IAEA principles. We reiterate our condemnation of attacks against Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
   
   
6. Let me once again express our gratitude and support both to the personnel in Ukraine’s nuclear facilities, especially the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, who work under such enormous pressure, and to the IAEA teams who support them on the ground. We also thank the IAEA for its safeguards work in accordance with the established plans and welcome the finding that there are no indications that would give rise to proliferation concerns.
   
   
7. The way to end the current threat to nuclear safety and security in Ukraine is simple: Russia must comply with international law and the calls of the Board and reverse its invasion by fully withdrawing its forces, other personnel and all military equipment from the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant and the entire territory of Ukraine thereby ending its illegal war.
   
   
8. I cannot end without reiterating my country’s full support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.

Thank you, Chair

Statement by Denmark on NPT Safeguards Agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran 

IAEA Board of Governors
Vienna, 5 – 9 June 2023

Chair,

1. Denmark aligns itself with the EU statement delivered under this agenda item.
   
2. We have long expressed our strong concern with Iran’s failure to provide technically credible explanations for the presence of uranium particles at several undeclared locations and the Agency’s ensuing inability to confirm the correctness and completeness of Iran’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement declarations. Despite the steps reported in the Director General’s current report, this situation remains essentially unchanged. Our concern therefore is undiminished.
3. We had hoped that the Joint Statement agreed in March would lead to swift progress in addressing the open issues, including those listed in the Board’s November 2022 resolution. Yet the report makes clear that the Agency is still awaiting Iran’s engagement to address key issues.
   
   
4. The outstanding issues stem from Iran’s legally binding obligations. For the sake of the international non-proliferation regime, all states must fulfil their safeguards obligations. For a country producing and accumulating large quantities of highly enriched uranium, moreover without a credible civilian purpose, not to do so is of particular concern.

    

5. The Board has demonstrated a great deal of patience in the matter of Iran implementing its safeguards obligations. Denmark urges Iran to, without delay, comply fully with these obligations and to cooperate in good faith with the Agency in the implementation of the Joint Statement, so as to not further test the international community’s patience. Instead it would be crucial for Iran to contribute to building confidence in the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities by providing the Agency with the access, the information and the cooperation necessary for the Agency to draw a conclusion in this regard.

    

6. Let me end by commending the IAEA, the Director General and the Safeguards Department for their continued professional efforts to implement safeguards in Iran in line with standard practise. We fully support them and look forward to their continued reporting.

Thank you Chair

Statement by Denmark on verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in the light of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015) 

IAEA Board of Governors
Vienna, 5– 9 June 2023

Chair,

1. Denmark aligns itself with the EU statement delivered earlier. 

    

2. The report before us paints a truly grim picture of the consequences of Iran’s continuing failure to implement the JCPoA. We are seeing stockpiles of enriched uranium, including highly enriched uranium, growing to unprecedented sizes without any plausible civilian need. Regardless of the calls of this Board and the international community more broadly, Iran has continued its proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities while also continuing to deny to the IAEA the monitoring and verification capabilities foreseen in the JCPoA.

    

3. The report also makes clear that the IAEA has irretrievably lost continuity of knowledge as regards several aspects of Iran’s activities and that any attempt to establish a new baseline would be very challenging and involve significant uncertainty. This further complicates any potential return to the full implementation of the JCPoA, even should Iran return to its commitments. We strongly regret this.

    

4. The Agency’s lack of a satisfactory understanding of Iran’s production and inventory of centrifuge components is of particular concern. We acknowledge the reinstallation of IAEA cameras at one set of workshops in Esfahan, but without Agency access to recordings, this has limited practical value. We therefore call on Iran to urgently come to an understanding with the Agency on the provision of these data as well as those collected previously.

    

5. I wish to reiterate our strong support for the IAEA and its professional and impartial work to monitor and verify the implementation of the JCPoA as well as Iran’s safeguards obligations. Iran’s decisions, however, limits the effectiveness of this work. We therefore strongly urge Iran to resume full implementation of its nuclear commitments, including all transparency measures, among which is the Additional Protocol, as well as the agreements reflected in the March Joint Statement.

    

6. We look forward to the Director General’s continued detailed reporting. These reports are crucial to provide the international community with assurances about the nature of the Iranian nuclear programme. Such assurances, however, require the full implementation of Iran’s safeguards obligations, including the modified Code 3.1, and full cooperation with the IAEA. 

Thank you, Chair

Statement by Denmark on Nuclear security: Nuclear Security Review 2023

IAEA Board of Governors
Vienna, 6 - 10 March 2023

1. Denmark fully aligns itself with the statement delivered on behalf of the EU. Allow me to make three short additional points in my national capacity:
2. Firstly, Denmark continues to attach strong importance to the Agency’s activities in the field of nuclear security, because we consider the guidance and support offered to member states as a central contribution to making full use of the potential of nuclear technology. The implications of Russia’s deplorable attacks on relevant Ukrainian infrastructure have further underlined this point. In general, the risks and challenges involved in the peaceful uses of nuclear applications make it crucial to have them accompanied by robust nuclear and radiological security measures in order to maintain human security. For this reason, we are pleased to be a regular contributor to the Nuclear Security Fund and aim to make our contributions as flexible as possible by avoiding earmarking.
3. Secondly, we welcome the progress made in the establishment of the Nuclear Security Training and Demonstration Centre, which is to complement existing training opportunities. We note that the running of the Centre will require substantial resources every year, all from voluntary contributions. It is important that the “Programme Support Costs” attached to those contributions be made available, as far as possible, to the operation of the Centre.
4. Thirdly, it remains our position that the Agency’s nuclear security work is overly reliant on voluntary funding. While we encourage contributions to the Nuclear Security Fund, we continue to call for the allocation of more Regular Budget funding to this work. The high demand by Member States for assistance reflected in the Review underlines the need for sustainable funding.

Thank you, Chair

Statement by Denmark on NPT Safeguards Agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran

IAEA Board of Governors
Vienna, 6 - 10 March 2023

Chair,

Denmark aligns itself with the EU statement delivered under this agenda item.

We have long expressed our strong concern with Iran’s failure to provide technically credible explanations for the presence of uranium particles at several undeclared locations and the Agency’s ensuing inability to confirm the correctness and completeness of Iran’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement declarations. By the end of February, no progress had been made despite the repeated strong call by the Board on Iran. Today, I want to express our admiration for the tenacity and patience demonstrated by the Director General during this long process. We very much hope that the agreement reached in Tehran regarding further access and information to be provided to the Agency by Iran in order to address the outstanding safeguards issues will finally bear fruit without further delay.

Chair, since our last meeting, new issues have arisen with regard to Iran’s implementation of its legally binding safeguards obligations. The DG has reported that Iran has acted in a way contrary to its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement  by implementing a significant change to the declared design information for the Fordow Plant without informing the Agency in advance. Also, particles of highly enriched uranium at an alarmingly high level have been found, again without that enrichment level having been declared. For the sake of the international non-proliferation regime, all states must fulfil their safeguards obligations. For a country producing and accumulating large quantities of highly enriched uranium, moreover without a credible civilian purpose, not to do so is particularly concerning.

The Board, like the DG, has displayed a high level of patience and is continuing to do so. We urge Iran now to comply fully with its safeguards obligations and to cooperate in good faith with the Agency, so as to not further test the international community’s patience.

Let me end by commending the IAEA, the Director General and the Safeguards Department for their continued professional efforts to implement safeguards in Iran in line with standard practise. We fully support them and look forward to their continued reporting.

Thank you Chair

Statement by Denmark on Verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015)

IAEA Board of Governors
Vienna, 6 - 10 March 2023

Chair,

Denmark aligns itself with the EU statement delivered earlier. 

As that statement makes clear, we are faced with a truly alarming situation. Regardless of the calls of this Board and the international community more broadly, Iran has continued to escalate its proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities to an unprecedented level. It is doing so while continuing to deny to the IAEA the monitoring and verification capabilities foreseen in the JCPoA. Moreover, Iran has also implemented a significant change to the declared design information for FFEP without informing the Agency in advance, which is contrary to its legally binding Comprehensive Safeguard Agreement obligations.

This is happening in a country, which is producing and accumulating highly enriched uranium in sharply increasing amounts and without any plausible need. The fact that the IAEA has now found particles of uranium enriched to an even much higher level – 83.7% - only adds to existing grave concerns.
 

These developments along with the fact that the IAEA has now irretrievably lost continuity of knowledge as regards several aspects of Iran’s activities further complicate a return to the full implementation of the JCPoA. We deeply regret this. A package allowing a full return to the JCPoA had been put on the table by the Joint Commission Coordinator, but Iran has chosen not to seize this opportunity. 

We hope that the agreement reached in Teheran regarding reinstallation of IAEA monitoring equipment will put the Agency in a better position as regards  establishing a satisfactory new baseline for JCPoA verification activities, should Iran resume implementation of its commitments.

I wish to reiterate our strong support for the IAEA and its work to monitor and verify the implementation of the JCPoA as well as Iran’s safeguards obligations. Iran’s decisions, however, put the effectiveness of this work at risk. We therefore strongly urge Iran to resume full implementation of its nuclear commitments, including all transparency measures, among which is the Additional Protocol, as well as the agreements reflected in the recent Joint Statement.

We look forward to the Director General’s continued detailed reporting. These reports are crucial to provide the international community with assurances about the nature of the Iranian nuclear programme. Such assurances, however, require the full implementation of Iran’s safeguards obligations, including the modified Code 3.1, and of the verification and monitoring activities contained in the JCPoA. 

Thank you, Chair

Statement by Denmark on the safety, security and safeguards implications of the situation in Ukraine

IAEA Board of Governors
Vienna, 6 - 10 March 2023

1. Denmark is fully aligned with the EU statement as well as the statement delivered by Canada on our behalf.

2. One year ago, following Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified full-scale invasion of a sovereign neighbouring country, the Board of Governors adopted its first resolution on Nuclear safety, security and safeguards in Ukraine. In the resolution, the Board, among other things, called on Russia to immediately cease all actions against nuclear facilities in Ukraine, in order for the competent Ukrainian authorities to preserve or promptly regain full control over all nuclear facilities within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders and ensure their safe and secure operations.    
3. The Board has since adopted two further resolutions reiterating this call. Perhaps we should not be surprised that Russia, whose leadership continues to show such disregard for international law, has ignored the Board’s calls.

4. However, we have every reason to be gravely concerned by this state of affairs, as the IAEA has found that the nuclear safety and security situation in Ukraine is increasingly precarious, challenging and potentially dangerous.

5. The way to rectify this is for Russia to comply with international law and with the Board’s calls and reverse its invasion by fully withdrawing its forces from Ukraine and end its illegal war.

6. Meanwhile, we extend our gratitude and full support both to the personnel in Ukraine’s nuclear facilities, especially the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, who work under such enormous pressure, and to the IAEA teams who support them on the ground.

7. We also thank the Director General and all the IAEA staff, including in the Incident and Emergency Centre, who put in a tremendous effort to help maintain nuclear safety and security in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine. We recall the recommendations previously put forward by the IAEA, including as regards a “ZNPP Nuclear Safety and Security Protection Zone” and support every effort to avoid the continued challenges to the Seven Pillars.

8. Equally, we thank the IAEA for its safeguards work in accordance with the established plans and welcome the finding that there are no indications that would give rise to proliferation concerns, nor of activities related to “dirty bombs”.

9. I cannot end without reiterating my country’s full support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.

Thank you, Chair

Statement by Denmark on NPT Safeguards Agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran

IAEA Board of Governors
Vienna, 16 - 18 November 2022

Denmark aligns itself with the EU statement delivered under this agenda item.

Once again, the Report before us is very clear. The IAEA is not in a position to confirm the correctness and completeness of Iran’s CSA declarations, because Iran has continued not to provide technically credible explanations for the presence of uranium particles at several undeclared locations. The current location of the nuclear material and equipment involved remains unknown.

It is a core element of the international safeguards system that states must cooperate with the IAEA. In the absence of sufficient cooperation in line with the legal obligations states have entered into, the Agency is unable to implement its safeguards mandate and draw the relevant conclusions. For this reason, lack of proper cooperation is a concern to all Member States, and the Board cannot ignore such a challenge to the system that we all rely on.

The continued lack of substantive Iranian engagement to solve issues stemming from its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement is therefore particularly concerning. We commend the Director General and the Safeguards Department for their dedicated and tireless work over several years to resolve outstanding questions in line with standard safeguards practise, and we fully support them in fulfilling their safeguards mandate. Despite these efforts, the IAEA cannot progress without Iranian engagement. We regret therefore that Iran did not take the opportunity provided by discussions held in September and November to effectively clarify and resolve outstanding issues.

While we regret that it has become necessary for the Board to take action, yet again, to ensure that Iran meets its legal obligations, we fully support the draft resolution submitted to this meeting. We strongly hope that it will be implemented, leading to significant progress before the Board’s meeting in March 2023, and preferably well before then.

Finally, we reiterate that failure to implement the modified Code 3.1 of the Subsidiary Arrangements is contrary to Iran’s legal obligations.

Thank you Chair

Statement by Denmark on verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015)

IAEA Board of Governors
Vienna, 16 – 18 November 2022
You can read the statement here

Statement by Denmark on the safety, security and safeguards implications of the situation in Ukraine

IAEA Board of Governors
Vienna, 16 – 18 November 2022
You can read the statement here

Statement by Denmark at General Conference

Vienna, 26 – 30 September 2022

You can read the statement here