International Conference on Wider Adherence to Strengthened IAEA Safeguards
Chairman's Summary (10 December, 2002)

1. A total of 82 participants representing 36 States met in Tokyo on 9th-10th December 2002 to consider ways and means to bring about wider adherence to strengthened IAEA Safeguards.
2. The participants stressed the necessity of strengthening the IAEA Safeguards system, which plays a vital role in underpinning the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons). This task is particularly urgent, in view of recent challenges to the nuclear non-proliferation regime e.g. verified compliance of Iraqi disarmament in terms of all weapons of mass destruction and reports of a concealed enrichment program in the DPRK. The participants reaffirmed the importance of universalizing the NPT regime.
3. In this regard, the participants agreed that impartial and critical inspections are a cornerstone of the NPT regime and that the Agency should be given the authority to provide credible assurance to the international community not only about the diversion of the declared nuclear material but also the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities.
4. They discussed ways and means of strengthening the IAEA safeguards system - notably through universal adherence to additional protocols to safeguards agreements - in the light of the IAEA Action Plan and the outcomes of a series of regional seminars held in the past two years. The outcome of IAEA regional seminars for Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Central Asia and South Caucasus, the Baltic Region and Africa provided variable inputs to the discussions at the Conference. Appreciations were expressed to the Governments of Estonia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Peru, and South Africa which hosted the seminars, as well as support provided by Australia, France, Sweden, and the United States.
5. It was noted that certain progress has been made since the Tokyo seminar held in June 2001, with 12 additional States having signed protocols and 9 States having brought protocols into force. However, at the time of the Conference, there are still only 67 States that have signed an additional protocol, and merely 28 States in which the protocol has entered into force. Moreover, NPT safeguards agreements with 48 non-nuclear-weapon States party to the NPT are still outstanding. The goal of universalization of comprehensive safeguards agreements and additional protocols is far from achieved. Intensified and concerted efforts are urgently required to make progress toward wider adherence to strengthened IAEA safeguards.
6. The participants shared the view that States should undertake in cooperation with the IAEA, collectively or individually, appropriate measures, specifically the following:
   1. In order to maintain the political momentum for strengthening the safeguards system, States concerned and the IAEA should co-operate closely in their outreach efforts, share information and continue to bring the issue to the forefront of international discourse. Specifically, the importance of strengthened safeguards should be raised in connection with the NPT review process, with a view to the 2005 Review Conference of the Parties, as well as UN General Assembly and other international meetings dealing with disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation issues. A possibility of issuing a joint ministerial statement was suggested to raise political interest.
   2. The adherence by States to safeguards agreements that are further strengthened by additional protocols promotes the peaceful use of nuclear energy and technology and international collaboration in the field of nuclear activities. By fully implementing such agreements and protocols, States are able to further demonstrate transparency concerning their nuclear activities, which could lead to regional peace and stabilization, to the strengthening of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime, as well as to facilitating cooperation in peaceful use of nuclear application. States should consider deepening their contacts with other States and the IAEA to identify the area of cooperation and assistance toward this goal. The role of parliamentarians, the media and the civil society in general was emphasized in order to underline and disseminate the significance and benefits of strengthening IAEA safeguards system.
   3. States should also recognize the role of the IAEA safeguards system in protecting against nuclear terrorism. The establishment of effective State Systems for Accounting and Control (SSAC), and co-operation between such systems and other relevant players are key measures in this regard.
   4. In connection with efforts to strengthen SSACs, the IAEA should continue to play a significant role in facilitating the coordination of multilateral and bilateral assistance and cooperation, and sharing of related information among bilateral donors and the IAEA.
   5. Bilateral and required collaboration should be promoted to the maximum extent possible, through the provision of necessary information and assistance by States that have already concluded an additional protocol to States that have not yet done so, in order to facilitate the universal conclusion of additional protocols. This applies in particular to these States that are not Members of the IAEA. In this connection, several representatives, notably Australia, France, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, expressed their readiness to offer expertise to help overcome technical and other obstacles that States might encounter in preparing for the conclusion and implementation of an additional protocol.
   6. Regional and national seminars, workshops, briefings, and training courses to provide advice on policy, legal and technical aspects of strengthened IAEA safeguards continue to be useful mechanisms in order to promote wider adherence to strengthened safeguards. Due account should be taken of the different needs in this regard of States with nuclear material and facilities and those without, taking into account means available to meet these needs.
   7. A suggestion was made to form an informal Friends of the Additional Protocol with participation of interested countries, particularly those having hosted regional seminars to coordinate their national and regional efforts and maintain the momentum.
7. The conference was seen as an excellent opportunity to review progress on the basis of the outcomes of a series of regional seminars and related efforts by States and the IAEA Secretariat. The participants were able to share information with each other on their experience with such activities and on their perception on relevant issues to be solved, and agreed on the importance of continuous co-operation in this regard. In that context, they stressed the significance of the Conference and hoped for the continuation of such efforts in order to achieve wider adherence to strengthened IAEA safeguards.
8. The participants expressed their hope that all States that had signed but not yet ratified additional protocols- notably, the remaining nuclear weapons States and EU member states - redouble their efforts to finalize their national ratification procedures promptly in order to maintain political momentum.
9. The participants expressed their appreciation of the efforts by some States, notably Japan, in hosting and supporting a series of regional seminars to States that supported these activities as well as the Secretariat of the IAEA.