U.N. chief stresses urgency of reviewing global nuclear safety regime
Apr. 27, 2011
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on Tuesday stressed the ''urgency'' of reviewing the global nuclear safety framework in the wake of Japan's nuclear crisis.
During a special U.N. General Assembly commemorative session to observe the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Ban said, ''Events at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant remind us once again of the dangers of nuclear accidents.''
''I called for a top-to-bottom review of current safety standards at the national and international levels.''
While noting that ''nuclear power will likely continue to be an important resource for many nations and can be a part of a low-carbon-emission energy mix in our efforts to address climate change, the U.N. chief said, ''But it has to become credibly safe, and globally so.''
Ban then said he will convene a meeting of world leaders in September to discuss the safety of nuclear power generation as well as nuclear nonproliferation.
''We must treat nuclear safety as seriously as we treat nuclear weapons.''
Prior to the commemorative session, Ban and other participants mourned and offered a moment of silence for the victims of the Chernobyl accident in the yard at the U.N. headquarters, by sounding the Japanese Peace Bell donated by Japan in 1954.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on April 26, 2011)
During a special U.N. General Assembly commemorative session to observe the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Ban said, ''Events at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant remind us once again of the dangers of nuclear accidents.''
''I called for a top-to-bottom review of current safety standards at the national and international levels.''
While noting that ''nuclear power will likely continue to be an important resource for many nations and can be a part of a low-carbon-emission energy mix in our efforts to address climate change, the U.N. chief said, ''But it has to become credibly safe, and globally so.''
Ban then said he will convene a meeting of world leaders in September to discuss the safety of nuclear power generation as well as nuclear nonproliferation.
''We must treat nuclear safety as seriously as we treat nuclear weapons.''
Prior to the commemorative session, Ban and other participants mourned and offered a moment of silence for the victims of the Chernobyl accident in the yard at the U.N. headquarters, by sounding the Japanese Peace Bell donated by Japan in 1954.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on April 26, 2011)
