On September 19, 2011, the first day of the 55th Annual General Conference of the IAEA, Executive Director of VCDNP Elena K. Sokova held a briefing in the Press Area of the General Conference for journalists accredited to the General Conference.
The briefing focused on the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, its mission and vision, current and future activities, including the monthly seminar series and the forthcoming week-long intensive nonproliferation and disarmament pilot course for junior diplomats that will be held during the week of September 26-30, 2011 at the VCDNP.
On September 20, 2011, the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation invited the journalists accredited to the IAEA General Conference to its quarters and held a briefing on the key issues before this year's General Conference.
Speakers included Gaukhar Mukhatzhanova, Senior Research Associate of Center for Nonproliferation Studies, and Mark Hibbs, Senior Associate of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Ms. Mukhatzhanova provided an analysis of the history and politics surrounding the resolutions focused on the Middle East at the IAEA, the forthcoming IAEA Middle East Forum, and the establishment of the zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.
Mr. Hibbs reviewed the IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety, its preparation and discussion at the IAEA Board of Governors prior to the General Conference, as well as the likely outcome of its discussion at the General Conference itself. He also touched upon the deliberations on the application of safeguards in the DPRK and the significance of this discussion for future treatment of non-compliance issues.
Presentations by both speakers triggered numerous questions and generated a lively discussion of these and other issues.
