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;