STATEMENT BY DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNOG AT OPENING OF FUSION ENERGY CONFERENCE 2008
Following is the statement of Jan Beagle, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and the Deputy Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, delivered today at the opening of the Fusion Energy Conference 2008 at the Palais des Nations:
"It is a distinct honour and a pleasure to welcome you all to the Palais des Nations. I am pleased to extend to you the greetings of the Director-General, Mr. Sergei Ordzhonikidze, who regrets that he cannot be with you today.
Allow me, first of all, to thank President Couchepin and our host country for their generous support for this important conference. It is yet another demonstration of Switzerland's firm commitment to multilateral cooperation, which is highly appreciated by the United Nations. I would also like to thank the IAEA for its continuing commitment to support the exchange of scientific and technical information on fusion research, which is represented most tangibly in the organization of this conference.
As you are all aware, this year we mark the fiftieth anniversary of the "Atoms for Peace" conference, held here at the Palais des Nations, in a spirit of cooperation for peace and progress. In the midst of the Cold War, transparency and collaboration triumphed over secrecy and competition. The conference not only provided a practical platform for scientists to come together, but it represented a lasting shift in mindset. In opening the event, then United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld said that "your activities here conform exactly to the most fundamental of United Nations aims and purposes; yours is work which can make peace ever more vital, which holds forth increasing promise for man's progressive well-being". This statement holds true today. We welcome your continued commitment to sharing research and findings, exchanging information and transferring technology, in the interest of all peoples. Shared knowledge is the very foundation of collective progress.
It is often said that young people at the time were so impressed by the display of equipment and devices at the 1958 conference that it inspired many to pursue a career in nuclear physics. I understand that some of you are with us today and extend a special welcome to you. While today's gigantic equipment will not allow for similar public display in the halls of the Palais des Nations, I have no doubt that the Fusion Energy Conference 2008 will serve as another compelling example of how openness and cooperation stimulate creative thinking.
Common to many of the challenges facing our international community today – from the global food crisis, to climate change and public health emergencies – is that they all call for solutions based on scientific innovation. And they require a stronger collaboration between the scientific community, governments, international organizations and other stakeholders, including the private sector. It is our hope that this Fusion Energy Conference will help facilitate closer collaboration between these different communities. With its global membership and comprehensive agenda, the United Nations has a central role to play in bringing these stakeholders together and linking this work to international policy debates. And we therefore greatly appreciate the opportunity to host this conference.
Our challenges are indeed vast and global in scope, but our responses to them must be built on detailed, often specialized technical work – at national, regional and international levels. The United Nations family is engaged across many areas, often working in close partnership with others – to integrate this specialized work into overall policies. Our ability to build a safer and more prosperous world will depend on the strength of these partnerships and on our ability to connect science and policy.
In this respect, a member of our United Nations family – the IAEA – has set a positive example in reaching cooperation agreements with research institutes. These arrangements have helped facilitate the use of nuclear techniques in addressing the needs of developing countries in areas such as crop productivity and water management. And the Agency continues to play a highly valuable – but sometimes less publicly visible – role in fields as diverse as agriculture and medicine. The IAEA's work in using nuclear techniques to make food crops more resistant to disease, boost crop yields and combat pests and animal diseases has acquired even greater significance with the surge in global food prices.
The warming of our planet, the rise in energy prices and increasing competition for natural resources make it imperative that we reinforce efforts to seek sustainable strategies based on science and technology. As the significant advances in recent years have shown, the area of fusion energy holds great potential. We all hope that these steps forward will lead to new scientific breakthroughs and technologies that could impact, in a positive manner, the lives of millions of human beings around the world.
Our common challenge is to ensure that the benefits of such advances are evenly shared. As you know, we face a development emergency. Despite progress, many countries are not on track to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by the deadline of 2015. The food crisis and climate change not only add to this emergency, but threaten to undo hard-won gains in many areas. New steps forward in science and technology are urgently needed to confront this challenge. And continued close cooperation between scientists and policy makers is of crucial importance.
Efforts must be pursued to associate developing countries to scientific cooperative arrangements and to facilitate technology transfers. Most importantly, we must strive to stimulate research and scientific knowledge, to build capacity, in the least developed countries so that developing-country experience can become a greater part of global scientific collaboration. In this regard, the continuously increasing participation in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is encouraging. We must ensure that these positive trends continue – to the benefit of all.
Only a few weeks ago, the Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, said – at the opening of the United Nations General Assembly – that in "this new world, our challenges are increasingly those of collaboration rather than confrontation. Nations can no longer protect their interests, or advance the well-being of their people, without the partnership of the rest". The unified efforts of fusion energy scientists have already shown the great value of cooperation in partnership across borders. And with pioneering spirit, a determined search for imaginative responses and readiness to put your know-how at the service of fellow human beings, you are contributing to addressing the pressing challenges of our time.
I have no doubt that this conference will help take those efforts even further – for the common good of all. I wish you all success in your discussions".
For use of the information media; not an official record
DG08012E