Position Paper
Delegate : Wu Yarui
School: University of International Business and Economy
Country: Indonesia
Committee: Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)
Topic: The future development and safe utilization of nuclear power
International concern over the future development and safe utilization of nuclear has increased steadily and is not to be neglected. Although it is beneficial to us because it is a clear energy and costs stably, it also brings us with some potential dangerous factors. There is no denying that the leakage, nuclear weapon, and the immense cost of nuclear are big threats to all human beings. And now Indonesia holds the view that we have reached the time when we must be responsible for these affairs so we cannot just sit back and let it go from bad to worse.
UN has spared no efforts to avoid the harmful effects that nuclear power has brought to us. The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) was established under the UN to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The UNODA (the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs) is also set up to promote nuclear disarmament. What’s more, the CTBT (Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty) has signed in 1996, many countries reached a consensus particularly on nuclear weapons.
Indonesia plans to develop the nuclear industry for peaceful purposes. BAPETEN (Badan Pengawas Tenaga Nuklir) was established to be a legislative organ for nuclear energy in 1998. Apart from it, Indonesia is a member of the IAEA and a signatory to the NPT (Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons). Furthermore, Indonesia agreed not to conduct nuclear-weapons testing and Indonesia signed treaties for nuclear cooperation with South Korea, Russia, Australia and the United Sated. Indonesia has since made it clear that we want a higher-capacity nuclear power plant, and will construct a land-based plant.
Faced with such a controversial problem, Indonesia has following suggestions. Firstly, the international law about the utilization of nuclear is not normative and strict enough, it is UN (United Nations)’s responsibility to complete it in all respects. Besides, a mechanism to supervise under the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) should be established particularly for some turbulent countries. Secondly, Indonesia believes it is essential to enhance multilateral cooperation to prevent it either formally or informally, such as GICNT (Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism), IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), and so on. Apart from what we have done, there are still something remained to be improved. Here is some advice: To facilitate information sharing and best practice among states; To set a higher standard for physical protection in the context of unforeseen dangers such as natural disasters and terrorist attacks; To take measures to improve the transparency and trust so as to keep the stability and balance between each nation. Finally, countries that plan to build nuclear plants and reactors should consider the location as much as possible and Indonesia believes that it is also critical for each government to raise public awareness by teaching them the nuclear safety education.