VIENNA, 11 March 2004 — Libya yesterday signed an agreement allowing international inspectors to carry out surprise inspections at its nuclear facilities as part of its pledge to give up its weapons programs and end its international isolation.
The signing of the additional protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is “yet another indication of Libya’s commitment to move away from weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons programs,” said Mohamed El-Baradei, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency. He added that the move “could be and should be a first step toward an Africa and Middle East free from weapons of mass destruction.”
The protocol was signed for Libya by Matooq Mohamed Matooq, who was formerly in charge of Tripoli’s nuclear program.
Matooq said the government was signing the protocol willingly in order to establish a new relationship with the international community and encourage other countries to follow the same road.
Just before the signing, the IAEA’s 35-nation board of governors voted to inform the UN Security Council that Tripoli had, in the past, violated its non-proliferation commitments but was now cooperating with the IAEA.
A resolution approved by the board went on to thank Libya “for its active cooperation with the agency” since Dec. 19, when Libya agreed with the US and Britain to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction programs.
“This cooperation has included the granting of unrestricted access to facilities, the provision of prompt responses to agency questions, and the volunteering of information relevant to the agency’s verification responsibilities,” it said.
The additional protocol is a crucial tool for the IAEA in its global role of verifying that nuclear activities are peaceful, and not directed toward weapons development.
It authorizes inspectors from the IAEA to carry out unannounced checks on active nuclear facilities and also on installations outside the scope of the NPT, such as decommissioned reactors, research centers and factories producing material that could be used for a nuclear program.
