SUMMARY REPORT OF THE PLENARY SESSION OF OCTOBER 12, 2022

The year two thousand and twenty-two, on the twelfth day of October, senators met in the hemicycle of the Senate in Gitega for the 106^th plenary session of the sixth legislature to analyze and adopt:

• The bill on accession by the Republic of Burundi to the convention on physical protection of nuclear materials;
• The bill on ratification by the Republic of Burundi of the amendment to the convention on physical protection of nuclear materials.

The session, which was chaired by the Senate Speaker, Right Honourable Emmanuel SINZOHAGERA, was attended by 33 senators and a Government Representative, Mr. Ibrahim UWIZEYE, Minister of Hydraulics, Energy and Mines. This session began as usual, with a prayer at 10:10 a.m.

Opening the session, the Senate Speaker first welcomed all the senators present and then presented the modified draft programme for the period from September 28 to October 21, 2022. After its analysis, the programme was unanimously adopted.

Afterward, the Senate Speaker invited the Government Representative to present the preamble of the two bills on the agenda.

In his first presentation, the Minister indicated that the bill relating to the accession by the Republic of Burundi to the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material aims to promote the peaceful applications of nuclear energy. Burundi is currently a member of the Council of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Then, he added that in order to intensify multilateral relations with other countries by fighting against the effects of radioactivity on the environment, the Republic of Burundi has just put in place a legal framework, law n°1/ 31 of September 16, 2022 on peaceful use, safety and security of nuclear energy and ionizing radiation. Therefore, Burundi’s accession to this convention will enable it to develop the peaceful applications of nuclear energy in various fields, namely: health, electrical energy, agriculture, environment and others, he added.

In his second presentation, the Government Representative explained that the purpose of this bill is to acknowledge the improvements made to the initial convention for the applications of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and their legitimate interest for the advantages which may result.

Finally, he specified that Burundi will also be able to ensure effective physical protection of nuclear materials, given that these materials always require very rigorous physical protection, with no margin of error.

After this presentation, the floor was given to the President of the standing committee in charge of gender issues and relations with the Legislative Assembly of the East African Community seized of the matter, Honourable Dévote FAIDA to present the reports of these two aforementioned bills.

At the end of this presentation, the Senate Speaker gave the floor to the Honourable senators so that they could express themselves within the framework of general debate for a better understanding of these bills under analysis.

To the question to know the current situation of radioactives in Burundi, the Minister answered that there are indices which show the presence of radioactives in Burundi, but he indicated that they are not quantified with exactitude by science.

In connection with the Agreement that Burundi signed with the Morgan Mining Company to carry out research in nuclear materials in 2105 in Musigati commune, the Minister specified that the work did not take place because the company vanished after the convention.

As for the question to know the procedure for the destruction of elements or out-of-use devices containing radioactive material, the Minister indicated that in a little while, there will be establishment of the Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Authority of Burundi (ARSBU); thus, the latter will define the modalities of this destruction.

The senators welcomed the initiative of the Government of Burundi to acquire a staff composed of Burundians who can intervene in the nuclear field and; recommend the availability of necessary and modern equipment.

After these exchanges, the two bills were submitted to the vote one after the other, and they were adopted unanimously by 38 senators among whom 33 present and 5 proxies.

The session which took place in an atmosphere of mutual understanding ended at 12:20 p.m. with a prayer.