Effects of Atomic Radiation

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 47 Effects of atomic radiation, published in 2025.

What else is in this group?

71 documents · 1956–2025

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	A/RES/80/75	Effects of atomic radiation	2,118	–
2024	A/RES/79/85	Effects of atomic radiation	2,050	–
2023	A/RES/78/71	Effects of atomic radiation	1,847	–
2022	A/RES/77/119	Effects of atomic radiation	1,915	–
2021	A/RES/76/75	Effects of atomic radiation	2,150	–

This group bundles related documents that are not individually ordered.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Programme 11	Environment	151

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Programme 11	Environment	151	—

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

What subjects does this mandate have?

2 subjects

Ionizing Radiation Radiation Effects

What’s in this document?

32 operative paragraphs

Commends the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, on its seventieth anniversary, for the valuable contribution that it has made since its inception to improve knowledge and understanding of the levels, effects and risks of exposure to ionizing radiation and for fulfilling its mandate with scientific authority and independence of judgment;

Reaffirms the decision to maintain the present functions and independent role of the Scientific Committee;

Re-emphasizes the need for the Scientific Committee to hold regular sessions on an annual basis so that its report will be able to reflect the latest developments and findings in the field of ionizing radiation and thereby provide updated information for dissemination among all States;

Notes with appreciation the work of the Scientific Committee, takes note of the report on its seventy-second session,² and encourages the Committee, over its coming sessions, to continue to work towards implementing strategies to support its long-term efforts to serve the scientific community, as well as wider audiences;

²Official Records of the General Assembly, Eightieth Session, Supplement No. 46 (A/80/46).

Welcomes the decisions on the outlined future programme of work for the period 2025–2029, provided that sufficient resources are available in the secretariat, that will serve to guide the priority areas of the Scientific Committee;

Notes with appreciation the implementation of the 2022 strategy to improve collection, analysis and dissemination of data on exposure to ionizing radiation aimed at seeking widespread participation in the Scientific Committee’s surveys and ensuring that future surveys adapt to changing data sources on the use of ionizing radiation across the world;

Welcomes the extension of the mandate of the ad hoc working group on effects and mechanisms and the ad hoc working group on sources and exposure to assist the Scientific Committee in supporting and monitoring progress in the implementation of its programme of work, to evaluate new scientific developments relevant to the Committee and to monitor the implementation of the updated strategy for data collection;

Supports the Scientific Committee in continuing to conduct its programme of work of scientific review and assessment on behalf of the General Assembly, and welcomes further progress, in particular on its evaluation on effects of ionizing radiation on the nervous system, and recognizes the decision of the Committee to defer the completion of the evaluation to 2029;

Welcomes the two substantive scientific reports adopted by the Scientific Committee during its seventy-second session, on epidemiological studies of ionizing radiation and cancer and on the evaluation of effects of ionizing radiation on the circulatory system, and looks forward to the timely publication of the supporting scientific annexes thereto as their outcomes are relied upon by other international organizations;

Also welcomes the initiation of the evaluation of effects of ionizing radiation on the eye in 2025, and the planned commencement of the data collection for the evaluation on medical exposure in 2026, subject to the availability of resources in the secretariat;

Recognizes the intention of the Scientific Committee to postpone to its seventy-third session the decision on the starting date of the upcoming evaluations on effects of ionizing radiation on the immune system and on levels of radiation exposure to and effects on wildlife populations and ecosystems, subject to the availability of resources in the secretariat;

Requests the Scientific Committee to continue its work, including its important activities to disseminate knowledge of the levels, effects and risks of ionizing radiation from all sources, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its eighty-first session;

Acknowledges the importance of sharing data with the Scientific Committee as appropriate, and the central role played by the increasing number of National Contact Persons and Alternate National Contact Persons in order to coordinate data collection at the country level and to cooperate with technical experts to complete Committee questionnaires;

Encourages National Contact Persons and their alternates to take part in the Scientific Committee’s global surveys and submit available scientific data on radiation exposure of patients, workers and the general public as appropriate;

Recalls the strategy of the Scientific Committee to improve data collection, encourages in this regard Member States, the organizations of the United Nations system and non‑governmental organizations concerned to provide further relevant data about levels, effects and risks of exposure to ionizing radiation from various sources, which would greatly help in the preparation of future reports of the Committee to the General Assembly, and encourages relevant organizations to further collaborate with the secretariat on arrangements for the collection, analysis and dissemination of data on radiation exposures of patients, workers and the general public;

Welcomes the planned development of an online platform for collecting data on the exposure of patients, workers and the general public, subject to the availability of resources in the secretariat, and urges Member States to take part in the Scientific Committee’s planned global survey on medical exposure and to nominate National Contact Persons to facilitate coordination of the collection and submission of data on the radiation exposure of patients;

Invites the Scientific Committee to continue its consultations with scientists and experts from interested Member States in the process of preparing its future scientific reports, and requests the secretariat to continue to facilitate such consultations;

Welcomes, in this context, the readiness of Member States to provide the Scientific Committee with relevant information on the levels and effects of ionizing radiation, and invites the Committee to analyse and give due consideration to such information, particularly in the light of its own findings;

Requests the secretariat to monitor the timely publication of approved reports and to strive to publish them within 12 months of their approval;

Encourages the relevant agencies of the United Nations system, and other international bodies, to continue to use the Scientific Committee’s evaluations as the scientific basis for the establishment of international safety standards;

Welcomes the Scientific Committee’s outreach strategy for the period 2025–2029, focusing on strengthening the Committee’s input to the science-policy interface within and outside the extensive United Nations network, enhancing engagement with scientific, diplomatic, academic and professional communities, subject to the availability of resources in the secretariat and encouraging the involvement of young professionals in the work of the Committee;

Notes the online publication of the United Nations Environment Programme booklet entitled Radiation: Effects and Sources in 16 different languages, and encourages its wide dissemination and periodic update, as appropriate, on the basis of the most recent Scientific Committee reports and annexes;

Welcomes the ongoing work of the secretariat to publish the website of the Scientific Committee in all official languages of the United Nations;

Requests the United Nations Environment Programme to continue, within existing United Nations resources, to provide the secretariat for the Scientific Committee, while respecting the Committee’s independent mandate and methods of operation, and to disseminate its findings to Member States, the scientific community and the public and to ensure that the administrative measures in place are appropriate so that the secretariat is able to adequately and efficiently service the Committee in a predictable and sustainable manner;

Requests the Secretary-General to assess possible options for servicing arrangements for the secretariat in the framework of the UN80 Initiative and to keep Member States informed;

Encourages the Scientific Committee to stand ready to carry out unplanned additional work, in strict compliance with its mandate, and in coordination with the International Atomic Energy Agency and other relevant international organizations, as appropriate, such as after nuclear accidents, that could include those in the context of military actions or natural disasters;

Welcomes the augmentation of the regular budget of the Scientific Committee in 2023 as decided after the seventy-eighth session of the General Assembly, allowing in particular to sustain the capacities of the secretariat to support the Committee, and acknowledges the temporary hiring freeze, due to the ongoing liquidity crisis faced by the United Nations;

Expresses strong expectations that, subject to measures required to manage the liquidity constraints, the regular budget of the Scientific Committee will remain in full, and that the United Nations Environment Programme will finalize the recruitment process for the fixed-term positions allocated to the secretariat, to implement the Committee’s programme of work as referred to above;

Requests the Secretary-General to strengthen support for the secretariat, as decided in 2023, in order to adequately and efficiently provide service to the Scientific Committee in a predictable and sustainable manner, and to effectively facilitate the use of the invaluable expertise offered to the Committee by its members, and to report to the General Assembly at its eighty-first session on these issues;

Understands that, as the budgetary situation becomes increasingly challenging, extrabudgetary support continues to be crucial for the timely implementation of the programme of work to deliver on the mandate of the Scientific Committee, which would require the provision of additional professional and administrative secretariat services;

Acknowledges the contributions to the general trust fund by Member States and the contribution of cost-free experts and technical officers;

Encourages Member States in a position to do so to make voluntary contributions to the general trust fund established by the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme and also to make contributions in kind, in order to support the work of the Scientific Committee, and the dissemination of its findings, in a sustainable manner.

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