Opening speech by Ed Kronenburg, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, on behalf of Uri Rosenthal, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, at the Plenary Meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Noordwijk, 23 June 2011
Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
Today, the proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction is one of the major threats to international peace and stability. The prospect of these arms falling into the hands of irresponsible regimes or international terrorist groups is terrifying. Hybrid threats caused by a combination of such forces may seem far away. But the danger of nuclear terrorism is real. We are working together in a lot of formal settings and initiatives to address these threats. For example, the Nuclear Security Summit and the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism.
With regard to threats emanating from states, I am thinking in particular of North Korea, Iran and Syria. The recently discovered enrichment facility in North Korea augments our concerns about the status and intentions of their nuclear program. As for Iran, it needs to restore international confidence in the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities. The full extent of the Iranian nuclear programme – especially regarding its possible military dimension – remains unclear. Iran needs to adhere to its international obligations as laid down in several UN Security Council Resolutions. Finally, Syria’s serious noncompliance, as recently observed by the IAEA, underlines the necessity for vigilance and cooperation. That’s what the NSG is all about.
For that reason, disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation have always been and will remain cornerstones of Dutch foreign security policy. First of all, we work to push disarmament forward. The recent joint proposal by Poland, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands to improve transparency between NATO and Russia about sub-strategic arms in Europe is a good example.
Secondly, we are dedicated to non-proliferation. The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is the basis for our international efforts in this field. Export control mechanisms are an essential part of this regime, making the NSG one of its key instruments.
The Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI) combines both lines of defence. For example, at our ministerial NPDI meeting in Berlin in April, we decided to aim for greater transparency in the way nuclear weapon states report their disarmament efforts. At the same time we will intensify our own efforts to universalise the IAEA’s Additional Protocol. This is vital to ensure that nuclear activities remain peaceful. With initiatives like these, the ten NPDI states want to spur progress on the global disarmament and non-proliferation agenda. We will share copies of the declaration of the NPDI meeting with you.
Before I go any further, let me make a brief comment on energy security in the decades ahead. According to some estimates, the world population will grow from six billion today to over nine billion by 2050. Simultaneously, prosperity will grow as well. As a consequence, energy consumption is expected to double in the same period. At the same time, however, we are aiming to reduce our CO2 emissions.
Some of us will step up investment in other sources of energy – renewables, for example. Others, including my own country, will continue the use of nuclear energy and even plan to expand it. Still other countries will decide to take the first steps towards using nuclear energy. They claim the right to meet their fast-growing energy needs with nuclear energy. We want to support them, as long as they also strengthen their non-proliferation systems.
So trade in nuclear goods and technologies for civilian use will most certainly increase in the near future. As Participating Governments of the NSG, we need to make sure that such trade can take place, but that it will not contribute to proliferation. We also have a responsibility to be vigilant that this sensitive technology does not end up in the wrong hands. I am therefore very pleased that the Consultative Group has agreed to strengthen the NSG guidelines.
Trade in nuclear goods will increase despite the recent nuclear incident in Fukushima, which sparked a debate on nuclear safety. The last IAEA Board of Governors meeting and this week’s ministerial meeting in Vienna make that clear. The tsunami and the events in Fukushima are forever imprinted on our minds. Our hearts go out the Japanese people. To the brave employees of the plant who are still fighting the effects of the accident. And to the many civilians forced to leave their homes.
This brings me to another challenge facing the NSG: reaching out to new countries. The more countries that subscribe to our principles and apply our guidelines, the better. That is why we intend to review the NSG’s outreach policy in the coming year. And we will run outreach missions to the non-NPT countries and to various regions of interest. You will hear more about this in the course of today.
This is the second time the Netherlands has held the NSG chairmanship and I hope that other countries will follow suit. During our term, I will pay special attention to the three key challenges I just mentioned. Security against proliferation. Safe trade of nuclear goods and technologies for civilian use. And outreach to potential new Participating Governments. We will proceed on the basis of the outcomes of this plenary meeting. Full steam ahead, as the saying goes, but that expression may be a bit too fossilised for this audience!
I would like to conclude by thanking the outgoing Chair, Ambassador Jennifer Macmillan for her excellent work. And I wish Ambassador Piet de Klerk every success with the challenges ahead. And finally, I hope you all have a very productive and successful plenary, today here in Noordwijk.
Thank you.