An extraordinary meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) took place on Friday in Vienna. The meeting was requested by Ukraine (a member of the Board) following the Russian missile attack that hit Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv on 8 July 2024. The facility is a beneficiary of assistance within the framework of the Agency’s Technical Coooperation Programme for the application of nuclear technologies in cancer diagnostics and treatment.
The IAEA Board of Governors approved a resolution which condemns the disruption caused by the attack specifically regarding the technical assistance provided by the IAEA and expresses full support to the Agency’s efforts to guarantee the continuity of essential medical services and to enhance radiation safety and protection measures.
In her statement in front of the Board, Ambassador Debora Lepre, Permanent Representative of Italy to the International Organisations in Vienna, reaffirmed Italy’s firm condemnation of the continuos strikes to civilian infrastructure in Ukraine following the Russian invasion, underlining in particular how attacks against medical facilities are an open violation of international humanitarian law, and she confirmed full support to the IAEA’s commitment to promoting peaceful uses of nuclear technologies, including in the medical field, and technical assistance aimed at ensuring the highest safety standards.
