Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations russiaun.ru
Statement by First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations Alexander A.Pankin at the special commemorative meeting in observance of the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe on agenda item 69 (c) “Strengthening of international cooperation and coordination of efforts to study, mitigate and minimize the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster”
Mr. Secretary-General,
Madam President,
Today marks the 25th anniversary of the
accident at the Chernobyl
nuclear power plant, which became the worst technological catastrophe of the
twentieth century in terms of its scope and complexity.
Today, speaking at the commemorative ceremony in
Chernobyl, President of Russia Dmitry A. Medvedev said: “I have sent today to our
partners in other countries, including the CIS, proposals to provide proper
development of nuclear energy in the world, including aimed at prevention of
global catastrophic consequences. It seems that we need to think about new
international conventions. We have to do that in the memory of those who were
the first to come to rescue, in fact, the whole humanity”.
In his address to the nation on this occasion Dmitry A. Medvedev
underscored: “Chernobyl is a common tragedy for Russia, Ukraine and Belarus,
and it is shared by the entire global community. We are currently raising funds to build a new
sarcophagus for the stricken reactor. A donors’ assembly comprising 28
countries has already been established. Russia will also make its contribution
by donating at least 45 million Euros to the Chernobyl Shelter Fund and Nuclear
Safety Account within two years.
The heads
of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States launched an address to the
international community at the meeting in Moscow
in December 2010 on this tragic date and the appeal to develop cooperation
aimed at the mitigation of the consequences of this catastrophe and at the recovery
of the affected areas.
We
appreciate very much courage and selflessness of hundreds of thousands of Chernobyl disaster relief
workers. Risking their lives and health, they fulfilled their duty and
protected people from the harmful effects and further spread of radiation.
Paying the tribute to the memory of the victims the heads of State of the
Commonwealth of Independent States proclaimed 26 April as the International Day Commemorating
Victims of Radiation Accidents and Catastrophes
More than 200 thousand Russian
nationals took part in the emergency relief operation in the aftermath of the
disaster. Over 59 thousand square kilometers of fourteen regions of Russia were
contaminated. 3 millionRussianpeoplelivedintheseterritories.
Despite the large-scale emergency response measures
aimed at addressing and mitigating the consequences of the catastrophe taken
both immediately following it and in subsequent years, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant continues to be
a potential source of danger. Minimizing this threat in the near future on the
basis of new technologies is in everyone’s interest. There is therefore a need
to muster the scientific, technical and financial capacity of the entire
international community.
In the Russian Federation
the work to minimize the effects of the Chernobyl
disaster centers on the measures aimed at overcoming negative health, social and
psychological impacts, improving the living standards of the population in the
affected areas and their return to the normal conditions.
In this context, a number of programs are being
implemented in Russia
at the federal level. The federal budget funds provided between 1992-2010 for
the programme-related measures carried out in the vicinity of Chernobyl, at the prices for the
corresponding years, is approximately 10 billion rubles. The funds were used
for over 1353.5
square meters of housing, hospitals with a capacity of
3799 patients, polyclinics receiving over 10205 visits per shift, schools with
a capacity of 19880 pupils, preschool institutions with a capacity of 3902
children, clubs, recreation centers with a capacity of 3960 people, some 794.5 km of roads, 4049,1 km of gas pipe-lines
and 312, 5 km
of water network pipes.
The consequences of Chernobyl are not limited to one country. The
Russian Federation
is working actively with other countries and international organizations on
matters related to overcoming the consequences of the disaster. The cooperation
between Russia, Belarus and Ukraine has been developing actively.
Russia
is an active participant of the Chernobyl Forum. The Ministry of Emergency
Situations of the Russian
Federation manages Russian involvement in relevant
projects with UNDP, IAEA, WHO and UNICEF.
Such projects include IAEA regional project “Radiological
Support for the Rehabilitation of the Areas Affected by the Chernobyl Nuclear
Power Plant Accident”, and UNDP, WHO and UNICEF projects carried out within the
framework of the International Chernobyl Research and Information Network (ICRIN).
Madam President,
We attach particular importance to further international cooperation
on Chernobyl.
We are convinced that it is necessary to continue and to step up the work
within the Decade of Recovery and Sustainable Development (2006-2016), proclaimed
by the UN General Assembly in its resolution 62/9.
The United Nations should be the catalyst in coordinating
international Chernobyl
cooperation. We support the efforts of UNDP Administrator, Ms. Helen Clark, to
put the UN Action Plan for Chernobyl Recovery to 2016 into action. We welcome
the active participation of all involved UN agencies, the World Bank, IAEA and
other international organizations in its implementation. We would also like to
commend the contribution by famous tennis player Maria Sharapova, UNDP Goodwill
Ambassador for Chernobyl. It is important to us to keep the emphasis in this
work on the sustainable development of the territories affected by radiation.
We
consider the adoption by consensus of the UNGA resolution on Chernobyl
last December as the confirmation of solidarity of the international community
with the efforts of affected States as well as its readiness to continue to pay
necessary attention to the Chernobyl
issues at the international level.
We commend the results of the International Conference
on Chernobyl held in Kiev last week. We are convinced that these
results will contribute the development of an important area of international
cooperation such as strengthening of response capacity to the technological
disasters and, in particular, to those associated with radioactive accidents.
In the context of new challenges and threats our civilization is facing, such
kind of cooperation is on the agenda as never before. The experience of the
Ministry for Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation and its
readiness to explore the international cooperation in this field is well known.
We highly appreciate the international assistance extended to the
Government of Ukraine and call upon all partners to continue efforts to
complete the construction of the Shelter facility to transform the site into a
stable and environmentally safe system. Russia has been donor of the
Chernobyl Shelter Fund from 2005.
In this context we would like to announce the decision
of the Russian Government to make a contribution of 5 million Euros to the
Nuclear Safety Account in 2012 and pledges of 20 million Euros in 2011 and 20 million
in 2012 to the Chernobyl Shelter Fund.
In conclusion
we express our appreciation to the leadership of the UNDP assuming the
coordinator functions on Chernobyl
since 2004 for its contribution into the strengthening of international
cooperation in this field as well as to other organizations, in particular,
humanitarian ones who worked hand in hand with us all these years.
