Year
2014
Abstract
Interest in the exploitation of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes has historically been accompanied by a corresponding concern that it not be used for the destruction of humankind. The IAEA, and its safeguards, were created to address that concern. The legal framework for those safeguards consists of a number of elements, including the Statute of the IAEA ; State undertakings; basic safeguards documents; the safeguards agreements, protocols and subsidiary arrangements; and the decisions and practices of t he IAEA. The legal framework for IAEA safeguards has evolved significantly since the Board of Governors first approved ad hoc safeguards arrangements in 1959. The presenter will describe the evolution of that framework from a personal perspective. Understa nding the legal framework of international safeguards is critical, particularly in the current political environment in which fundamental misunderstandings of the current framework and how it evolved exist. The presenter hopes to be able to correct some of those misunderstandings.