M52 6 May 1994

AUSTRALIA TO CONTRIBUTE TO IAEA WORK ON FISSILE MATERIAL CUT-OFF CONVENTION

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Gareth Evans, announced today that  Australia would contribute $25,000 to the International Atomic Energy Agency  (IAEA) to support its preparatory work on the verification of an international  convention to prohibit the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons

purposes.

Negotiation of such a Convention - known as "Cut-Off - is now under  discussion in the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. At its 1993 session  the United Nations General Assemby passed a resolution, co-sponsored by  Australia, calling for negotiations on a Cut-Off Convention to commence

immediately.

Senator Evans said a Cut-Off Convention was an important disarmament and  non-proliferation objective for Australia.

"The aim of Cut-Off is to put an end to all production of plutonium and highly  enriched uranium for nuclear weapons purposes, and to place all production  facilities under international safeguards," Senator Evans said. "This will make a  significant contribution to global security, and support other priority  disarmament objectives such as indefinite extension of the Nuclear NonÂ­

Proliferation Treaty and the conclusion of a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty."

"The IAEA has a high level of expertise in the verification field, based on its  experience in managing the global regime of nuclear safeguards under the  Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," Senator Evans said. "This expertise will be  essential in ensuring that the verification provisions of a Cut-Off Convention  provide assurance of compliance."

Senator Evans conveyed advice of Australia's financial contribution during a  meeting in Canberra today with Dr Bruno Pellaud, Deputy Director-General of  the IAEA in charge of safeguards. Senator Evans and Dr Pellaud also  discussed the problem of North Korea's nuclear program, efforts to strengthen  the IAEA safeguards system, and the 1995 Conference on the extension of the

NPT.

CANBERRA

