United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/69/84

Sixty-ninth session

Agenda item 48

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 913 (X) of 3 December 1955, by which it established the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, and its subsequent resolutions on the subject, in which, inter alia, it requested the Scientific Committee to continue its work,

Concerned about the potentially harmful effects on present and future generations resulting from the levels of radiation to which mankind and the environment are exposed,

Conscious of the continuing need to examine and compile information about atomic and ionizing radiation and to analyse its effects on mankind and the environment, and conscious also of the increased volume, complexity and diversity of that information,

Acknowledging the concerns about the radiological consequences of nuclear accidents, which were renewed by the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan,

Reaffirming the desirability of the Scientific Committee continuing its work, and welcoming the increased commitment of States members of the Committee,

Emphasizing the vital need for sufficient, assured and predictable funding, as well as efficient management, of the work of the secretariat of the Scientific Committee to arrange the annual sessions and coordinate the development of documents based on scientific reviews of the sources of ionizing radiation and its effects on human health and the environment,

Recognizing the increasing importance of the scientific work of the Scientific Committee and the need to carry out unforeseen additional work in cases such as the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station,

Recognizing also the importance of voluntary contributions to the general trust fund established by the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme to support the work of the Scientific Committee,

Considering that the high quality of the work and the scientific rigour of the Scientific Committee need to be maintained in the future,

Recognizing the importance of disseminating results from the work of the Scientific Committee and widely publicizing scientific knowledge about atomic radiation, and recalling, in that context, principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development,

1. Commends the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation for the valuable contribution that it has been making since its inception to wider knowledge and understanding of the levels, effects and risks of ionizing radiation and for fulfilling its original mandate with scientific authority and independence of judgement;

2. Reaffirms the decision to maintain the present functions and independent role of the Scientific Committee;

3. Notes with appreciation the work of the Scientific Committee, and takes note of the report on its sixty-first session, including the confirmation of the Governing Principles for its work and the adoption of terms of reference for its Bureau;

4. Appreciates the publication in 2014 of the complete report on the levels and effects of radiation exposure due to the nuclear accident after the 2011 great east-Japan earthquake and tsunami, and encourages the secretariat of the Scientific Committee to continue to disseminate the findings to the public;

5. Requests the Scientific Committee to continue its work, including its important activities to increase knowledge of the levels, effects and risks of ionizing radiation from all sources, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its seventieth session;

6. Endorses the intentions and plans of the Scientific Committee for conducting its programme of work of scientific review and assessment on behalf of the General Assembly, in particular its next Global Survey of Medical Radiation Usage and Exposures, to be conducted in close cooperation with other relevant organizations, and its assessments of levels of ionizing radiation exposure from electrical energy production, and requests the Committee to submit plans for its ongoing and future programme of work to the Assembly at its seventieth session;

7. Welcomes developments in streamlining procedures for publishing the reports of the Scientific Committee electronically on its official website and as sales publications, and calls upon the secretariat to monitor the timely publication of those reports and to continue to strive to publish them within the same calendar year as their approval;

8. Re-emphasizes the need for the Scientific Committee to hold regular sessions on an annual basis so that its report can reflect the latest developments and findings in the field of ionizing radiation and thereby provide updated information for dissemination among all States;

9. Invites the Scientific Committee to continue its consultations with scientists and experts from interested Member States in the process of preparing its future scientific reports, and requests the secretariat to facilitate such consultations;

10. Welcomes, in this context, the readiness of Member States to provide the Scientific Committee with relevant information on the levels and effects of ionizing radiation, and invites the Committee to analyse and give due consideration to such information, particularly in the light of its own findings;

11. Recalls the strategy of the Scientific Committee to improve data collection, encourages in this regard Member States, the organizations of the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations concerned to provide further relevant data about levels, effects and risks of radiation exposure from various sources, which would greatly help in the preparation of future reports of the Committee to the General Assembly, and encourages the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Health Organization and other relevant organizations to further collaborate with the secretariat to establish and coordinate the arrangements for periodic exchange of data on radiation exposures of workers, the general public and, in particular, patients;

12. Welcomes the development by the secretariat of an online platform for collecting data on medical exposures, and encourages Member States to take part in the Scientific Committee’s Global Survey of Medical Radiation Usage and Exposures and to nominate a national contact person to facilitate coordination of data collection and submission within their country;

13. Requests the United Nations Environment Programme to continue, within existing resources, to actively support the effective conduct of the work of the Scientific Committee and the dissemination of its findings to the General Assembly, the scientific community and the public;

14. Takes note, in this regard, of the Scientific Committee’s outreach strategy for the coming years, in particular the enhancement of the website of the Committee and the publication of informative leaflets and posters in all the official languages of the United Nations, and encourages consideration to be given to publishing the website in all those languages;

15. Encourages the United Nations Environment Programme to continue to maintain appropriate funding for the Scientific Committee, pursuant to paragraph 14 of General Assembly resolution 68/73 of 11 December 2013;

16. Encourages Member States to make voluntary contributions to the general trust fund established by the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, and also to make contributions in kind in order to support the work of the Scientific Committee;

17. Recalls paragraph 19 of General Assembly resolution 66/70 of 9 December 2011, notes the expression of interest by Member States in membership in the Scientific Committee, and requests the Secretary-General to provide the Assembly at its seventy-second session with a list of the Member States that have expressed their particular interest in membership in the Committee between the sixty-sixth and seventy-second sessions, for consideration pursuant to the above-mentioned paragraph.

64th plenary meeting 5 December 2014