A. Background
The General Conference in 2000 adopted Decision GC(44)/DEC/12, in which the Conference requested the Director General, inter alia, to develop an agenda and modalities which will help to ensure a successful forum on the relevance of the experience of existing nuclear-weapon-free zones (NWFZs), including confidence-building and verification measures, for establishing a NWFZ in the region of the Middle East.
As mandated by decision GC(44)/DEC/12, the Director General sought the views of Member States of the Middle East region with regard to developing an agenda and modalities for convening a forum in which participants from the Middle East and other interested parties could learn from the experience of other regions, including in the area of confidence-building. In this regard, the Agency circulated a proposed agenda in 2004 as Annex to document GC (48)/18 and continued seeking the views of the concerned Member States.
On 4 March 2011, the Director General once again sought the views of Member States of the Middle East region on an agenda and modalities for convening a forum along the lines of the Secretariat’s proposal.
The Director General’s continued efforts were welcomed by many States. On 31 August 2011, the Director General wrote to all Member States inviting them to take part in the IAEA Forum on Experience of Possible Relevance to the Creation of a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in the Middle East on 21-22 November 2011 at the IAEA’s Headquarters in Vienna.
The Forum will be chaired by HE Ambassador Jan Petersen, Resident Representative of Norway to the IAEA.
B. Objectives of the Forum
The Forum, reflecting the consensus of the Agency’s Member States on the importance of establishing a NWFZ in the region of Middle East, is designed to consider the experience of Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean in creating regional security regimes and achieving disarmament through establishing NWFZs.
The principal focus of the Forum would be to:
(i) study the lessons of other regions regarding the regional setting and context that had prevailed there before they began considering a NWFZ;
(ii) review the existing multilaterally agreed principles for establishing NWFZs in populated areas of the world;
(iii) review the theory and practice of establishing the five existing NWFZs;
(iv) discuss with representatives from the five existing NWFZs their experience in promoting, negotiating and practically implementing negotiated arrangements for NWFZs; and
(v) discuss the region of the Middle East in this context.
C. Format of the Forum
The Forum is open for participation of the IAEA Member States and invited organizations.
The Forum will start at 10:00 a.m. on 21 November 2011 with opening statements by the Director General and the Chairperson of the Forum.
In accordance with the agreed agenda of the Forum, as contained in GOV/2011/55-GC(55)/23, Annex 1, representatives of the five NWFZs will deliver presentations on the experience in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean in making progress towards building cooperation, regional stability and security; arms control and disarmament agreements and identification of the required prerequisites towards this end by reaching common understandings on bilateral and regional issues of security, confidence-building and cooperation as well as principles governing the establishment of NWFZs and the conceptual framework of NWFZ treaty arrangements. The presentations will also cover the issue of potential relevance of such experience to the case and region of the Middle East.
The representatives of regional verification arrangements, Euratom and the Brazil-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials (ABACC), will deliver presentations on their own regional verification practices and the potential relevance of such experience to the case and region of the Middle East.
The presentations will be followed by interactive discussions with participating delegations of Member States.
The expected outcome of the Forum is a Summary of the Plenary Sessions. The Summary will be prepared and presented by the Chairperson of the Forum on 22 November 2011.
The work of the Forum is expected to be completed by 1:00 p.m. on 22 November 2011.
D. Registration
All participants of the Forum should be registered online in advance. As the seating format will be arranged based on the number of Member States attending the Forum, participants are therefore kindly requested to register not later than Thursday, 17 November 2011, the extended deadline. The procedure for registration is similar to that used for IAEA General Conference registration. Please click HERE to go to the online registration web page.
It is mandatory that all participants attending this Forum wear a valid grounds pass bearing their photograph.
Designated participants who are not already in possession of such a pass, but are returning participants or those who have already submitted their photographs in advance, can collect their Pre-printed grounds passes upon the presentation of a valid ID card with photograph.
For the others visiting the VIC for the first time and who have not sent their photographs in advance, but have already pre-registered, may proceed directly to the photo-badging area.
Pre-printed badges can be collected from Gate 1 as of Friday, 18 November 2011 between 8 am and 4 pm.
Official registration will start on Monday, 21 November at 7.30 am.
The final list of participants can be retrieved from GovAtom
For any assistance or queries regarding registration, please contact Ms Rosmarie Knoedler:
Email: r.knoeldler@iaea.org
Tel. + 43 1 2600 21099.
E. Working Languages and Interpretation
The working languages of the Forum will be Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, and interventions made in any one of these languages during the Forum will be interpreted simultaneously into the others.
F. Accommodation
Hotel reservations are to be made directly by the participants. An indicative list of hotels close to the Forum venue offering preferential room rates for IAEA conferences and meetings can be retrieved HERE.
If any difficulty is experienced in accessing the above-mentioned web page, the Forum organizer should be contacted (see Heading H below).
G. Visa
Designated participants who require a visa to enter Austria should submit the necessary application to the nearest diplomatic or consular representative of Austria at least 4 weeks before entry into Austria. Please note that Austria is a Member State of the Schengen Area and therefore persons who require a visa will have to apply for a Schengen visa. In States where Austria has no diplomatic mission, visas can be obtained from the consular authority of a Schengen Partner State representing Austria in the country in question.
H. Forum Secretariat
Conference Secretariat Address:
International Atomic Energy Agency
Vienna International Centre, P.O. Box 100
1400 Vienna, Austria
Telephone No.: (+43 1) 2600 0
Email: Official.Mail@iaea.org
Scientific Secretary:
Mr Christophe Carle
IAEA-DGOP
Telephone No.: (+43 1) 2600 21251
Email: C.Carle@iaea.org
IAEA Forum Organizer:
Mr Aballache Yesli
Conference Services Section
Division of Conference and Document Services
IAEA-CN-200
Telephone No.: (+43 1) 2600 21317
Email: A.Yesli@iaea.org
I. Forum Venue
IAEA Headquarters, Vienna room M2-M3 MO1 Level.
J. Forum web page
Please, visit the IAEA web page regularly for new information regarding the Forum:
http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Meetings/Announcements.asp?ConfID=43407
* This revision is issued to extend the deadline and to provide the exact venue and more information on registration.