This International Conference is being organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and is the fifth in a series of conferences on effective nuclear and radiation regulatory systems. The four preceding conferences were held in Vienna, Austria, in 2016, Ottawa, Canada, in 2013, Cape Town, South Africa, in 2009, and Moscow, Russian Federation, in 2006. Building on the conclusions and deliberations of these events, the conference to be held in November 2019 will review issues of importance to the global regulatory community focusing, in particular, on the importance of the regulators in ensuring a high standard of safety and security.
The objective of the conference is to share regulatory experiences related to improving the effectiveness of nuclear and radiation regulatory systems, taking into account the outcomes of the past conferences in this series, as well as the Seventh Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety, the Sixth Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, the open-ended meetings of legal and technical experts on implementation of the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources and its supplementary Guidance, works performed by the Commission on Safety Standards, and related activities. Furthermore, the conference addresses the international framework for the security of nuclear and other radioactive material. Ultimately, the main focus of the conference is how to work together to address cross-cutting regulatory areas.
The expected outcomes of the conference and subsequent actions are:
- Enhanced international cooperation to support embarking countries;
- Strengthened regulatory interfaces between nuclear and radiation safety and nuclear security;
- Improved regulatory effectiveness through the application of a graded approach and the use of regulatory experience;
- Improved anticipation and management of cross-cutting regulatory areas considering regulatory lessons learned from other industries; and
- Identified strategies and actions for the future including topics for consideration by governments and regulatory bodies, which includes interfacing with technical support organizations and international organizations.
