Good Evening,

It is the privilege of the Holy See to be addressing the members of the International Atomic Energy Agency, but I do not wish to bury the lead. The Holy See, having existed for thousands of years, has seen the plurality of human history. It has seen the rise of empires and their fall, it has seen the invention of the wheel, the printing press and most pertinent to this body, the Atomic bomb. The Holy See, although the body does not need its vote, is pushing for a re-acknowledgement of the major nuclear or nations wishing to emerge as nuclear powers. The Holy See believes that the people of the world can never truly be free until the masses are free from the threat of mutually assured destruction from nuclear powers. The Holy See supports a new SALT agreement, expanding the limitations on testing of nuclear weapons, more oversight for the limited amount of testing allocated, stricter punishments for nations who violate the terms of a new SALT agreement and transparency on the movements and enrichments of nuclear material. The Holy See strongly urges all representatives to support a new SALT agreement. The issue of the frighteningly low amount of information available to the international community, much less the flagrant lack of transparency by nuclear programs the world over, leads to a dangerous question to nations with nuclear programs who are unwilling to be transparent. 

Press Release from the desk of the Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency from the Holy See