| Project Number | RAF/0/015 |
| Project Title | Legislative Assistance for the Safe and Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy |
| Objectives | To establish an adequate legal framework governing the safe and peaceful uses of nuclear energy in a number of selected Member States in Africa in order to comply with the fundamental requirements of relevant international instruments. |
| Field(s) | (0D) Development of National Nuclear Law |
| 1st Year of Approval | 2001 |
| Project Status | Completed 2009-06-23 |
| Programme Management Officer | Boussaha, Ali; Division for Africa |
| Countries involved | Algeria; Angola; Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Cote d'Ivoire; Democratic Rep. of the Congo; Egypt; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Ghana; Kenya; Liberia; Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; Madagascar; Mali; Mauritania; Mauritius; Morocco; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Senegal; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; South Africa; Sudan; Tunisia; Uganda; United Republic of Tanzania; Zambia; Zimbabwe |
| Institutes involved | Algeria Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (COMENA) Location: Alger Angola Ministry of Science and Technology Location: Luanda Burkina Faso Autorité nationale pour l'énergie atomique Location: Ouagadougou Cameroon Ministère de la recherche scientifique et de l'innovation; Comité national de développement des technologies (CNDT) Location: Yaoundé Central African Republic Université de Bangui Location: Bangui Cote d'Ivoire Université de Cocody; Faculté des sciences et techniques Location: Abidjan ---------- Ministère de la santé et de l'hygiene publique; Laboratoire national de la sante publique Location: Abidjan Democratic Rep. of the Congo Commissariat général à l'énergie atomique (CGEA) Location: Kinshasa Egypt Atomic Energy Authority (AEA) Location: Cairo Ethiopia Ministry of Science and Technology Location: Addis Ababa Gabon Ministère des Mines, du Pétrole, des Hydrocarbures, de l'Energie, des Ressources Hydrauliques et de la Promotion des Ene Location: Libreville Ghana Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) Location: Accra Kenya National Council for Science and Technology (NCST) Location: Nairobi Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Tajoura Renewable Energy and Water Desalination Centre; Atomic Energy Commission; IAEA Division Location: Tajoura Madagascar Ministère de l'éducation nationale et de la recherche scientifique (MENRS); Institut national des sciences et techniques nucléaires (INSTN) Location: Antananarivo Mauritius Ministry of Public Utilities Location: Port Louis Morocco Ministère de l'Energie et des Mines (MEM); Direction de l'énergie; Commission chargée des programmes de coopération Internationale Location: Rabat Namibia Ministry of Health and Social Services Location: Windhoek Niger Ministère des mines et de l'énergie (MME); Direction des mines Location: Niamey ---------- Ministère des mines et de l'énergie (MME); Directeur de l'Utilisation Pacifique des Techniques Nucléaires (DUPTN) Location: Niamey Nigeria Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission Location: Abuja Sierra Leone Ministry of Energy and Water Resources Location: Freetown South Africa South African Nuclear Energy Corp. (NECSA) Location: Pretoria Sudan Ministry of Science and Technology; Sudan Atomic Energy Commission (SAEC) Location: Khartoum Tunisia Centre National des Sciences et Technologies Nucléaires (CNSTN) Location: Sidi Thabet Uganda Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development Location: Kampala ---------- Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Location: Kampala United Republic of Tanzania Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission (TAEC) Location: Arusha ---------- Ministry of Water and Irrigation; Water Resources Department Location: Dodoma Zambia National Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research (NISIR); Information Services Unit Location: Lusaka Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (MOHCW) Location: Harare ---------- Ministry of Energy and Power Development Location: Harare ---------- Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (MOHCW); Environmental Health Department; Hazardous Substances and Articles Control Location: Harare ---------- Ministry of Energy and Power Development; Department of Energy Location: Harare |
| Achievements | BACKGROUND A preliminary assessment based on the legal framework for the safe and peaceful uses of nuclear energy and nuclear-related applications of selected Member States in Africa showed that their respective legal infrastructure needed to be enhanced in order to bring them in line with relevant International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safety standards and other international legal instruments. In particular, in most of the countries of the region, legislation needed to be either established or updated and completed to foster regulatory control. Overall legislative assistance, in the areas of radiation safety, emergency preparedness and response, nuclear safety, spent fuel and radioactive waste management, physical protection, safeguards and non-proliferation, and civil liability for nuclear damage also needed to be provided under this project. The IAEA’s experience in providing legislative assistance confirmed that in order to achieve an effective transfer of knowledge, legislative assistance should involve an interaction with individual states entailing a long-term relationship, interface between legal and technical issues requiring lawyers and technical experts to interact with each other and work jointly and a multi-means approach to transfer knowledge and know-how through the combination of workshops, training, assistance in legislation drafting and the development of reference material for the assessment and drafting of national nuclear legislation. In most Member States of the African region, there was no legislation governing nuclear applications. Some countries had enacted legislation; however, that legislation was not compliant with the fundamental requirements of the relevant international instruments or otherwise incomplete in nature. In addition, a review by the IAEA showed that only a few countries of the Africa region had concluded international instruments negotiated under the IAEA. During the bilateral meetings held at the 43rd General Conference, some countries expressed interest in becoming a party to conventions that were relevant to them. The need for assistance in preparing comprehensive nuclear national legislation was a priority for them. The first priority target countries were those with no nuclear legislation. The second priority countries for the assistance under the project were those which had not yet enacted legislation required to comply with the complete set of international instruments or fulfil their international commitments. In order to assist the targeted countries in establishing a nuclear legislative system, there was a need to provide information and explanations on how technical issues related to the content of nuclear legislation and to provide information and explanations on relevant international conventions and rules of international law. For this purpose, training through workshops started in the year 2001 and continued to 2003. The IAEA identified legal experts from each targeted country to work together with the country’s technical experts in the implementation of the project. Simultaneously, the IAEA and the targeted countries assessed the main components of the legal framework in each of the selected Member State in order to identify the shortcomings. The project implementation began by addressing specific legislative assistance needs of each targeted country or group of countries sharing common interests and problems. Recipient Institutes and counterparts were as follows: (i) Algeria : Commissariat à L'énergie Atomique (COMENA); (ii) Angola: Ministry of Science And Technology; Luanda; (iii) Benin; (iv) Botswana; (v) Burkina Faso : Autorité Nationale Pour L'énergie Atomique; Ouagadougou; (vi) Cameroon : Ministère de La Recherche Scientifique et de L'Innovation; Comité National De Développement des Technologies ; (vii) Central African Republic : Université de Bangui; Bangui ; (viii) Chad ; (ix) Cote D'ivoire : Université D'Abidjan Cocody; Faculté des Sciences et Techniques; Abidjan ; (x) Cote D'Ivoire : Ministère de la Santé et de L'hygiène Publique; Laboratoire National de la Santé Publique; Abidjan ; (xi) Democratic Rep. of the Congo : Commissariat General à L'énergie Atomique (CGEA); (xii) Egypt : Atomic Energy Authority (AEA); Cairo ; (xiii) Eritrea ; (xiv) Ethiopia : Ministry of Science and Technology; Addis Ababa ; (xv) Gabon : Ministère des Mines, Du Pétrole, des Hydrocarbures, de L'énergie, des ressources hydrauliques et de la promotion des ENE; Libreville ; (xvi) Ghana : Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC); Accra ; (xvii) Kenya : National Council for Science And Technology (Ncst); Nairobi ; (xviii) Liberia ; (xiv) Libyan Arab Jamahiriya: Renewable Energy And Water Desalination Centre; Atomic Energy Commission; IAEA Division; Tajoura; (xx) Madagascar : Ministère de L'éducation Nationale et de la recherche scientifique (MENRS); Institut national des sciences et techniques nucléaires (INST); Antananarivo ; (xxi) Mali (AMARAP) Ministère de l’Energie; (xxii) Mauritania ; (xxiii) Mauritius : Ministry of Public Utilities; Port Louis ; (xiv) Morocco : Ministère de l'énergie et des Mines (MEM); Direction de l'énergie; Commission chargée des programmes de coopération internationale; Rabat ; (xxv) Namibia : Ministry of Health and Social Services; Windhoek ; (xxvi) Niger : Ministère des mines et de L'énergie (MME); Direction des mines; Niamey ; (xxvii) Niger : Ministère des mines et de L'énergie (MME); Directeur de L'utilisation pacifique des techniques nucléaires (Duptn); Niamey ; (xxviii) Nigeria : Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission; Abuja : (xxiv) Senegal; (xxx) Seychelles ; (xxxi) Sierra Leone : Ministry of Energy and Power; Freetown ; (xxxii) South Africa : South African Nuclear Energy Corp. (Necsa); Pretoria; (xxxiii) Sudan: Ministry of Science And Technology; Sudan Atomic Energy Commission (SAEC); Khartoum; (xxxiv) Tunisia : Centre National des Sciences et Technologies Nucléaires (CNSTN); Sidi Thabet ; (xxxv) Uganda Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development; Kampala; (xxxvi) Uganda: Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs; Kampala; (xxxvii) United Republic of Tanzania: Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission (TAEC); Arusha; (xxxviii) United Republic of Tanzania: Ministry of Water and Irrigation; Water Resources Department; Dodoma; (xxxix) Zambia: National Institute For Scientific and Industrial Research (NISIR); Information Services Unit; Lusaka; (xl) Zimbabwe: Ministry of Energy and Power Development; Department of Energy; Harare; (xli) Zimbabwe: Ministry of Energy and Power Development; Harare ; Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (MOHCW); Harare; and ; Environmental Health Department; Hazardous Substances and Articles Control; Harare. OUTPUTS The IAEA provided the necessary coordination and funding for the provision of expert services (missions abroad and home-based work); training through the organization of national and regional training courses, sponsoring fellowships and scientific visits; and reviewing documentation regarding international instruments and standards. Provision of such assistance enabled the drafting of laws and regulations in such a clear, transparent and understandable way so to facilitate application of the stipulated rules and requirements by both users/operators and the governing state bodies. The assistance provided was tailored-made to suit the particular needs of the country covered. It was implemented in due consideration of the current situation and in close cooperation with the competent institution of the country. The IAEA implemented 11 expert missions for the following tasks: (i) Revision and improvement of the drafts on radiation protection law for Burkina Faso and Senegal; (ii) Sensitization of senior government officials in Niger on safety, security and safeguards issues before the adoption of a national law; (iii) Preparation of report and project extension proposal for 2005–2006 technical cooperation cycle; (iv) Review of draft laws (general nuclear law and law on the regulatory authority); (v) Participation in a national seminar on nuclear legislation in Algiers; (vi) Subsidiary legislation for radiation safety infrastructure for Niger; (vii) A second national seminar on nuclear power programme in Niger: legislative and regulatory requirements; (viii) Legislative assistance for Tunisia on legal and regulatory requirements for launching a nuclear power programme; (ix) Legislative assistance for Tunisia on legal and regulatory requirements for launching a nuclear power programme; (x) A national seminar on legislative framework and regulatory infrastructure for radiation safety in Mauritius and a national seminar on legislative framework and regulatory infrastructure for radiation safety in Morocco. The IAEA fielded two consultant missions and one national expert mission including one consultant mission to participate and provide lectures in a national seminar on nuclear legislation held in Tanzania, one consultant mission to participate and provide assistance in a legislative assistance workshop in Malawi and one national expert mission involving two experts from Gabon to review the regulatory infrastructure for radiation safety, draft law and draft regulations. The IAEA assisted the organization and implementation of seven meetings/workshops attended by 128 participants. The events fielded included the establishment of a judicial framework in radiation protection held in Vienna, a second Anglophone Africa training workshop on development of a legal framework held in Accra, Ghana, an African regional meeting for senior Government officials on the development of a legal framework held in Vienna, a national seminar on legislative framework for the control of radiation sources held in Seychelles, a technical meeting to review the draft law on nuclear and radiological safety and security held in Vienna, a nuclear law review meeting focused on the finalization of the draft law developed by Algeria on nuclear safety and security held in Vienna and a review of the nuclear law of Egypt held in Vienna. The IAEA implemented eight fellowship trainings to establish regional skill in the development of national nuclear laws, legal aspects of atomic energy, and regulatory infrastructure for radiation and waste safety. The training delivered included the following: (i) Relevant legal instruments governing the peaceful use of nuclear energy under the Convention on Nuclear Safety, the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (and the amendment), and the Protocol to Amend the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage and the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage). The fellowships also involved the international principles governing the safe and peaceful uses of atomic energy and relevant legislation, training at the International School of Nuclear Law (ISNL) in Montpellier, France, training in the IAEA Office of Legal Affairs on the application of nuclear law and enforcement actions, international conventions relating to nuclear safety and security and safety-related regulations drafting. The IAEA also fielded 42 scientific visits. The overwhelming majority of visitors attended a session of the International Summer School of Law in Montpellier. The training received included training on protection against ionizing radiation, nuclear safety and nuclear accident management, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and international safeguards, nuclear security: physical protection and illicit trafficking of nuclear materials, transport of nuclear materials and fuel, management of spent fuel and radioactive waste, nuclear liability, compensation and insurance for nuclear damage and international trade of nuclear material and equipment. The IAEA fielded four regional training courses, attended by 142 participants, and one national training course in the development of the national nuclear law held in Accra, Ghana. Training delivered during these events included the following: (i) A regional training workshop on the establishment of a legal framework governing radiation protection, the safety of radiation sources and the safe management of radioactive waste held in Addis Ababa; (ii) A regional training workshop on legislative framework for the safe and peaceful uses of nuclear energy held in Vienna; (iii) An African regional training course for the development of a legal framework for preparedness and response to radiological Emergencies for Physical Protection and for Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage held in Vienna; (iv) An African regional seminar on the assessment of national nuclear legislation held in Vienna; (v) A national training course on the international legal framework governing nuclear safety, security, safeguards and liability for nuclear damage in Accra, Ghana. Recipient institutes were provided documentation on safe and peaceful uses of nuclear energy, computers and funds to hold national seminars. The documents procured included guidance on the principles of radioactive waste management, legal and Governmental Infrastructure for Nuclear, Radiation, Radioactive Waste and Transport Requirements; and (iii) Handbooks on Nuclear law. The project has promoted the establishment of appropriate comprehensive legislative frameworks in most target countries, and there is an increase in the number of state parties to nuclear-related international instruments negotiated under the auspices of the Agency. OUTCOMES The project has made a significant contribution to the ability of the participating Member States to establish, develop, or review their respective legislative regimes according to the international instruments related to nuclear activities and internationally recognized good practice. Through the enforcement and maintenance of the established adequate nuclear legislation, the majority of participating Member States are compliant with the requirements of treaties, conventions, and other relevant international instruments in order to strengthen the protection of people and the environment against the harmful effects of ionizing radiation. |