For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 17, 2005

Statement on Progress in Achieving the President's Nonproliferation Proposals

The United States welcomes today's action by the 35 nation International Atomic Energy (IAEA) Board of Governors to create a Special Committee on Safeguards and Verification, as proposed by the President. The creation of this special committee will aid efforts to counter the proliferation of nuclear weapons and will strengthen the IAEA's ability to monitor and enforce compliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and related agreements.

The creation of this special committee is one of the proposals the President made in February 2004 to address nuclear proliferation. Since that time, substantial progress has been made in achieving the President's other nonproliferation proposals; including:

• Expansion of the Proliferation Security Initiative to include more nations, and development of new approaches for interdicting weapons of mass destruction and related material. We recently commemorated the second anniversary of PSI with representatives from over 100 nations.
• Adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 on April 28, 2004, that requires all states to criminalize proliferation by nonstate actors, enact strict export controls, and secure sensitive materials within their borders.
• Expansion of the G-8 Global Partnership to include not only the G-8 but thirteen other donor countries. Ukraine has joined as both a donor and recipient and additional countries are also being considered.
• Agreement by the G-8 to limit transfers of enrichment and reprocessing capabilities while examining options to permanently restrict these technologies at the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

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