Vienna, 29 September, during the 67th session of the International Atomic Energy Agency General Conference, Kazakhstan’s resolution titled “Restoration of Sovereign Equality of Member States in the IAEA” was adopted with an overwhelming majority vote (99-2-16), QazMonitor reports citing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Initiated by Kazakhstan, the resolution lays the foundation for ensuring fairer and more democratic approaches to the participation of member states in the IAEA’s activities. As part of Kazakhstan's efforts to restore sovereign equality in the Agency, for the first time in the history of the IAEA, Kazakhstan has codified a list of 17 countries excluded from the regional groups. The list was published as an official document of the Agency on August 10, 2023, and included in the resolution of the General Conference as a basis for building further work within the newly established “Group of Friends of Arealess Member States” chaired by Slovenia.
The resolution of the IAEA General Conference calls upon Member States to ratify the amendment to Article 6 of the Agency's Statute, which envisages an expansion of the participants in the Board of Governors and the establishment of a list of members by geographical regions. Kazakhstan ratified this amendment in 2019.
The resolution was proposed by the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Kairat Umarov. It was supported by 99 Member States and 56 co-sponsors representing all geographical regions of the IAEA.
Co-sponsors of the resolution submitted by Kazakhstan included all EU countries, the US, the United Kingdom, China, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Singapore, Japan, Nepal, Turkey, and other countries.
The adoption of the resolution marks the first practical step towards addressing the long-standing issue of equal representation of Member States in regional groups, key decision-making bodies, and relevant consultative processes within the Agency.
