Second Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

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Geneva, July 29, 2024

Statement by Canada – Cluster 3 Issues

Delivered by Mr. Shawn Friele, Secretary, Permanent Mission of Canada to the International Organizations in Vienna

Chair,

Amidst the climate crisis, energy insecurity, and a race against the clock to attain the UN Sustainable Development Goals, nuclear innovations continue to offer solutions to power a sustainable future.

The NPT provides the essential framework enabling international cooperation in these areas.

Canada recognizes the inalienable right of States party to undertake the research, production, and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, in conformity with the Treaty’s non-proliferation requirements.

We actively support these efforts, including through our exports of nuclear materials, equipment and technologies and the sharing of knowledge. We do this responsibly and confidently with partner countries in a manner reflecting shared commitments to nuclear safety, security and non-proliferation.

Canada has been closely involved in the development and sharing of peaceful applications of nuclear technology for seventy years. We play an active role in export control regimes and have established 31 nuclear cooperation agreements covering 48 states, enabling nuclear trade for peaceful purposes.

Global nuclear cooperation would not be possible without the IAEA, which plays an essential role in assisting States that use or are pursuing nuclear technology and applications.

This support covers the use of nuclear as a low carbon-emitting energy source, as well as applications that enhance food security and health, improve water resource management, augment agricultural yields, and mitigate climate change. All helping to advance the Sustainable Development Goals.

Canada looks forward to the upcoming IAEA Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Science, Technology and Applications and the Technical Cooperation Programme, which will facilitate collective efforts to expand the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Chair,

Canada supports nuclear innovation and invests in the research and development of novel nuclear technologies. We are on track to be one of the first countries to deploy a grid-scale SMR and are actively working with partners and the IAEA to harmonize the regulatory process to support the deployment of new nuclear reactors and ensure the highest standards of safety, security and non-proliferation are met.

Canada is proud to support domestic and international efforts to increase nuclear safety and security. Since 2012, Canada has provided over $88 million in extra-budgetary contributions to the IAEA’s Nuclear Security Fund, comprising financial and expert support in areas such as regulatory infrastructure development and sustainable management of nuclear and radiological material.

Demands on IAEA resources, however, have expanded, and we have seen an increased reliance on extra-budgetary funding to support essential work. This is especially the case for nuclear security. We must avoid over-reliance on extra-budgetary funding that brings unpredictability for the Agency and undermines its ability to adequately respond to States’ needs.

We encourage all States Party to the NPT to explore opportunities to broaden nuclear engagement with newcomer countries. In this regard, Canada is pleased to be a member of the US-led Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology capacity building program and contribute $1.86 million to support its work over the next two years in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Indo-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Regrettably, the promotion of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and Ukraine’s right to its peaceful use is being directly undermined by Russia’s continued occupation of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Russia’s ongoing military presence at the plant continues to pose unacceptable nuclear safety and security risks and has detrimental consequences for public acceptance of nuclear energy.

In closing, Canada reaffirms the centrality of the Treaty and its three mutually reinforcing pillars. Through our domestic and international engagement, we will continue to be an active partner in promoting and sharing the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.