WIDER ADHERENCE TO STRENGTHENED IAEA SAFEGUARDS

The development of model Additional Protocol to the Safeguards Agreement by the IAEA in 1997 has strengthened the IAEA safeguards implementation based on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The safeguards measures included in the Additional Protocol are aimed to make sure of the absence of nuclear materials and activities, which are undeclared to the IAEA. The importance of accepting Additional Protocol measures by the all nation states, irrespective of the fact whether nuclear activities exist in the said state or not, has been recognized by the international community. However, there are still only 67 states that have signed an Additional Protocol, and only 28 states in which the Protocol has entered into force in December 2002. To gain wider acceptance of the Additional Protocol, the IAEA held a series of regional seminars, with cooperation of the member states, in Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Caribbean, Central Asia and South Caucasus, the Baltic Region and Africa in the past few years. In December 2002, the Japanese Government organized the “International Conference on Wider Adherence to Strengthened IAEA Safeguards” in Tokyo, Japan with the cooperation of the IAEA. 35 states and the IAEA sent the representatives to the Conference. In the Conference several important issues in order to have more wider adherence of the Additional Protocol has been discussed, e.g. importance of Additional Protocol, obstacles to concluding Safeguards Agreements and Additional Protocols, solutions to overcome such obstacles, assistances for the wider adherence, perspectives from nuclear industries, etc. The author would like to report the proceeding of the Conference and to express his views on the results, then the author would like to examine the future activities, which should be taken by the international community and the member states, to gain wider adherence.