An exhibit commemorating the 20th anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

Ambassador Bersheda,
Mr. Administrative Councillor,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Twenty years separates us from that fateful day, 26 April 1986, when the most serious accident in the history of nuclear power occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power plant in Ukraine. The exhibition we are opening today is a vivid reminder of the tragedy that Chernobyl represents. I commend the Government of Ukraine, as well as the City of Geneva and the Geneva Natural History Museum for this initiative.

The scale of the accident, its impact on health and on the ecological situation transcended the boundaries of the zone around Chernobyl, indeed, the boundaries of the Republic of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, the three countries which received the largest share of the fallout. It became a global problem of concern to the entire world, as recently released reports confirm with new stark figures.

Despite the many assessments of the situation in and around Chernobyl and numerous scientific and applied scholarly works of the past twenty years, the continuing complex of problems represented by the single word ‘Chernobyl’ is far from an exact science. The existing body of information on the radiological, ecological and health consequences of the accident is considered to be often conflicting, to say the least, as it is viewed by the population of the affected States, the international NGO community and the wider public as biased in one or another direction.

This accident at Chernobyl is much more than the worst technological disaster in the history of nuclear power generation. It is also a grave and continuing human tragedy. By displacing hundreds of thousands of people, it severely damaged the socio-psychological fibre of the most seriously affected regions of the three countries. Radioactive contamination, health risks, both physical and mental, continue to affect vast populations in these countries.

As Secretary-General Kofi Annan reminded us so vividly, "At least three million children in Belarus, Ukraine and the Russian Federation require physical treatment due to the Chernobyl accident. Not until 2016, at the earliest, will we know the full number of those likely to develop serious medical conditions."

That tragic event twenty years ago continues to this day to have a devastating effect on the social and economic life of the people affected by this tragedy, obliging respective governments to grapple with the most acute of its consequences. Chernobyl, however, represents a long-term problem of unprecedented complexity, which can only be tackled successfully through the combined efforts of the entire international community.

Throughout these years, the international community provided significant technical assistance in the area of nuclear safety and undertook wide-ranging scientific research. While hundreds of millions have been pledged for the construction of a new and safer “sarcophagus”, comparatively little has been done by the international community to provide direct assistance to the populations affected by the consequences of this accident.

Yet, unlike other catastrophes in the world, the consequences of Chernobyl do not fade away, but actually grow increasingly uncertain and in many ways more intense. I would even say that Chernobyl remains the only catastrophe with an unpredictable future.

As we mark this sombre anniversary, the international community can and should do much more to provide tangible assistance to those who live with the invisible, yet very real consequences of the disaster.

This exhibit helps us to remember and moves us to act.

Thank you.