The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Argentinean Rafael Mariano Grossi, was appointed this Friday in Vienna by the board of governors of the United Nations nuclear agency to a second term of four years.
The Argentine diplomat, nominated by acclamation, was the only candidate running for officewhich he took over at the end of 2019 after the death of his predecessor, the Japanese Yukiya Amano.
The second mandate of the 62-year-old Grossi will begin on December 3rd It will end on December 2, 2027.
The decision of the Board of Governors of the IAEA, of which 35 member states are members, will have to be confirmed by the 176 member states at the next general conference of the organization in late September in Vienna.
“Deeply Honored”
“I am deeply honored by the Council’s unanimous decision to nominate me for another term. It comes at a time when we face many important challenges and I am fully committed to continuing to do everything in my power to carry out the IAEA’s crucial mission in support of world peace and development,” Grossi said in a statement.
“I will ensure that we continue to meet and satisfy the growing demands and expectations of all our member states, whose continued support is essential,” he added, referring to the organisation’s different missions.
These include scientific, medical and energy applications in the nuclear sector, but also the verification and control of atomic programs around the world.
Grossi’s first term was marked by the conflict around The Iranian nuclear program, whose verification and supervision is in the hands of the IAEA, but also of war in Ukraine, where the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has been under Russian occupation since March 2022.
To reduce the risks of a nuclear accident in the war zone, the IAEA director general has been trying since last year to negotiate with the warring parties the creation of a zone of safety and security around the atomic power plant, the largest of the L’ Europe, with its six reactors.
A recent Russian bombing of ten regions of Ukraine has caused power outages at the nuclear power plant, fueling the risks of a nuclear accident. This provoked the indignation of Grossi, who assured that if this situation continues, “one day our luck will run out”.
Source: EFE
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Source: Clarin
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