UNGA: GUIDANCE FOR UNSCEAR RESOLUTION FOR 64TH

UNCLAS STATE 109385 SENSITIVE C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (SENSITIVE CAPTION ADDED) SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ENRG UNGA SUBJECT: UNGA: GUIDANCE FOR UNSCEAR RESOLUTION FOR 64TH UNGA ¶1. (U) This is an action request, see paragraph 3. ¶2. (U) SUMMARY: The UN General Assembly will consider its annual UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) resolution on Thursday, October 22, 2009, in New York. The resolution is expected to be adopted by consensus. ¶3. (SBU) ACTION REQUEST: USUN is authorized to join consensus on the adoption of the UNSCEAR resolution, entitled "Effects of Atomic Radiation." The full text of the resolution is included in paragraph 4 below. Should other Member States propose substantive amendments to the current text, USUN should seek further guidance from Washington. ¶4. (U) BEGIN TEXT OF THE RESOLUTION: The General Assembly, Recalling its resolution 913 (X) of 3 December 1955, by which it established the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, and its subsequent resolutions on the subject, including resolution 63/89 of 5 December 2008, in which, inter alia, it requested the Scientific Committee to continue its work, Taking note with appreciation of the work of the Scientific Committee, and noting the letter from its Chairman to the President of the General Assembly A/64/223., Reaffirming the desirability of the Scientific Committee continuing its work, Concerned about the potentially harmful effects on present and future generations resulting from the levels of radiation to which mankind and the environment are exposed, Conscious of the continuing need to examine and compile information about atomic and ionizing radiation and to analyse its effects on mankind and the environment, and conscious also of the increased volume, complexity and diversity of that information, Noting the views expressed by Member States at its sixty-fourth session with regard to the work of the Scientific Committee, Emphasizing the vital need for sustainable, appropriate and predictable resourcing, as well as efficient management, of the Secretariat,s work to arrange the annual sessions and coordinate the development of documents based on scientific reviews from Member States of the sources of ionizing radiation and its effects on human health and the environment, Recalling the deep concern of the Scientific Committee expressed in the report on its fifty-fifth session that reliance on a single post at the Professional level in its secretariat had left the Committee seriously vulnerable and had hampered the efficient implementation of its approved programme of work Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-Third Session, Supplement No. 46 (A/63/46) Recalling the comprehensive report of the Secretary-General A/63/478. on the financial and administrative implications of increased membership of the Committee, staffing of its professional secretariat and methods to ensure sufficient, assured and predictable funding, and Recalling its request of the Secretary-General, in formulating his proposed programme budget for the biennium 2010)2011, to consider all options, including the possibility of internal reallocation, to provide the Scientific Committee with the resources outlined in paragraphs 48 to 50 of the Secretary-General,s report, (A/63/89, op 16) Commends the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation for the valuable contribution it has been making in the course of the past fifty-four years, since its inception, to wider knowledge and understanding of the levels, effects and risks of ionizing radiation, and for fulfilling its original mandate with scientific authority and independence of judgement; Reaffirms the decision to maintain the present functions and independent role of the Scientific Committee; Requests the Scientific Committee to continue its work, including its important activities to increase knowledge of the levels, effects and risks of ionizing radiation from all sources; Endorses the intentions and plans, including those outlined in the Chairman,s letter to the President of the General Assembly A/64/223, for conducting the present programme of work of scientific review and assessment of the Scientific Committee on behalf of the General Assembly, encourages the Committee at its earliest convenience to submit these reports (which include assessments of levels of radiation from energy production and the effects on human health and the environment, and on the attribution of health effects due to radiation exposure),and to initiate as far as possible work on the remaining previously endorsed topics, and requests the Committee to submit plans for its future programme of work to the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session; Requests the Scientific Committee to continue at its next session the review of the important questions in the field of ionizing radiation and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session; Reemphasizes the need for the Scientific Committee to hold regular sessions on an annual basis so that its report can reflect the latest developments and findings in the field of ionizing radiation and thereby provide updated information for dissemination among all States; Expresses its appreciation for the assistance rendered to the Scientific Committee by Member States, the specialized agencies, the International Atomic Energy Agency and non-governmental organizations, and invites them to increase their cooperation in this field; Invites the Scientific Committee to continue its consultations with scientists and experts from interested Member States in the process of preparing its future scientific reports, and requests the Secretariat to facilitate such consultations; Welcomes, in this context, the readiness of Member States to provide the Scientific Committee with relevant information on the effects of ionizing radiation in affected areas, and invites the Committee to analyse and give due consideration to such information, particularly in the light of its own findings; Invites Member States, the organizations of the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations concerned to provide further relevant data about doses, effects and risks from various sources of radiation, which would greatly help in the preparation of future reports of the Scientific Committee to the General Assembly; Requests the United Nations Environment Programme to continue providing support for the effective conduct of the work of the Scientific Committee and for the dissemination of its findings to the General Assembly, the scientific community and the public; Urges the United Nations Environment Programme to continue to review and strengthen the funding of the Scientific Committee, pursuant to paragraph 13 of resolution 63/89, and to continue to seek out and consider temporary funding mechanisms to complement existing ones, and, in that context, encourages Member States to consider making voluntary contributions to the general trust fund established by the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme to receive and manage voluntary contributions to support the work of the Committee; Reminds the Scientific Committee, as directed in paragraph 17 of resolution 63/89, to continue its reflection on how the current, as well as a potentially revised, membership for the Scientific Committee could best support the essential work of the Committee, including by developing, with the participation of the observer countries, detailed, objective and transparent criteria and indicators to be applied equitably to present and future members alike, and to report its conclusions by the end of June 2010, Welcomes the attendance of Belarus, Finland, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, Spain and Ukraine as observers at the fifty-sixth session of the Scientific Committee, invites each of those States to designate one scientist to attend, as observers, the fifty-seventh session of the Committee, and resolves to take a decision on the membership of the Scientific Committee, including of these six countries, once a decision on resource allocation has been made, and after UNSCEAR,s 57th Session, but no later than the end of the sixty-fourth session of the General Assembly CLINTON