Fiftieth IAEA General Conference Special Event

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is holding a "special event" from September 19-21 on the issue of nuclear fuel supply as part of its Fiftieth General Conference in Vienna. The topic is "New Framework for the Utilization of Nuclear Energy in the 21st Century: Assurances of Supply and Non-Proliferation". High-level technical and political delegations from the agency's 140 member states are expected to attend. The special event planners have scheduled the first day of the conference for political statements by ministers and the second day for working level experts who will explain the technical issues. The final day of the special event is for discussion and recommendations for a "road map" for further actions.

The meeting will consider proposals to guarantee supplies of nuclear fuel to all countries. For many years the developing countries have been demanding that the nuclear-advanced countries honour their commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to provide others with a guaranteed supply of nuclear equipment, materials and technology for peaceful purposes. The nuclear-advanced states have refused to abide by the NPT and are even proposing to restrict, by law, the access of developing countries to this technology.

A nuclear "fuel bank" - whereby the IAEA administers a nuclear fuel reserve - is among the proposals that will be considered. A press release from the IAEA states that: "A fuel reserve would assure a back-up supply for power reactors throughout the world on a non-discriminatory, non-political basis reducing the need for countries to develop their own uranium enrichment technologies at a time when concerns about nuclear proliferation are growing." The IAEA explains that such a fuel bank would not replace the existing commercial market in nuclear fuels but would be a "back-up or reserve mechanism". According to the IAEA, the United States and Russia are prepared to contribute nuclear fuel to a "multinational fuel bank" administered by the IAEA. However, the United States, Russia, Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands, which have the largest commercial uranium enrichment facilities in the world, are mainly interested in monopolizing this economically and militarily strategic industry for themselves rather than sharing it with the IAEA or any other country or international organization.

The idea of nuclear fuel banks date back to the early years of the IAEA and the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Today, there is a renewed interest in this idea. For example, on January 30, 2006 Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a system of international centres on Russian territory that would provide nuclear fuel cycle services, including enrichment. One week later, U.S. President George Bush announced a Global Nuclear Energy Partnership which includes "establishing a fuel services program that would allow developing nations to acquire and use nuclear energy economically while minimizing the risk of nuclear proliferation." On July 15, Putin and Bush issued a joint statement at the G-8 Summit in Russia supporting each other's initiatives and declaring their intent "to work together, actively involving the IAEA, to allow all nations to enjoy the benefits of nuclear energy without pursuing uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing capabilities."

One factor driving renewed interest in this idea is the growing demand of many countries for nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, especially for the generation of electricity. The nuclear-weapon states, and other nuclear suppliers such as Canada, would like to strengthen and expand their market share in this sector. Aside from the profits at stake for the nuclear industries of these countries, the withholding of nuclear technology by the nuclear-advanced countries is a way to hamper the independent economic development of the developing countries, as well as to blackmail these countries at crucial times. In recent years, some developing countries, such as Iran, have managed to establish their own nuclear industries despite the obstacles put it their way by the United States and other countries. The United States and their allies are now trying to secure their control over this technology by seeking changes to the Non-Proliferation Treaty which would have the effect of restricting the right to produce nuclear fuel, as well as the right to possess nuclear fuel cycle technology, to a few select countries while preventing other countries from having these capabilities.

The United States is disingenuous when it claims that its main concern is the proliferation of nuclear technology that could be used to develop nuclear weapons. It has the largest armaments industry, both conventional and nuclear, in the entire world. It actively proliferates dual-purpose nuclear technology among its allies like Israel, India, South Korea and Japan. While it is making pronouncements against the proliferation of uranium enrichment facilities, it is making deals on the side with certain allies to allow their entry into the uranium enrichment business. On August 17, Dennis Spurgeon, assistant secretary for nuclear power at the U.S. Department of Energy, told reporters of The Australian that: "I think Australia, and Canada for that matter, play a special role in world nuclear affairs because obviously you are two countries that have the majority of economically recoverable uranium resources". He said that the U.S. would make an exception to its non-proliferation stand for Australia and Canada.

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