JAPANESE diplomat Yukiya Amano was narrowly elected the next head of the UN atomic watchdog yesterday and he vowed to tackle rich-poor tensions weakening the fight against the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Challenges for him include Iran's expanding uranium enrichment programme, blocked investigations into alleged military nuclear activity in Syria, and North Korea's atomic tests.
Mr Amano, supported largely by industrialised nations, defeated South
Africa's Abdul Samad Minty in a sixth round of balloting after five inconclusive votes. He succeeds Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, who retires in November.
Poorer nations regarded Mr Amano as a tool of major powers pushing the IAEA to get tougher on proliferators while using such concerns as an excuse to hinder the sharing of nuclear technology for development.
He said he would balance IAEA resources between anti-proliferation inspections and fostering the safe use of nuclear energy for modernisation and medicine.
"As a national from Japan, I will do my utmost to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. To do that, the solidarity of all the member states, countries of the north, from the south, from east and west, is absolutely necessary," he told reporters.
"I will do my utmost to... ensure sustainable development through the peaceful use of nuclear energy," he said in a nod to developing nations.
Mr Armano's backers hope he will take a tougher line on non-compliance with nuclear safeguards than Mr ElBaradei, who riled the United States by advocating negotiation rather than sanctions against Tehran.
