The History of the Starting Point: A Study of the Archives

In April 1970, a month after the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) entered into force, the IAEA Board of Governors adopted a resolution establishing the Safeguards Committee to consider the content of the safeguards agreements required by the Treaty. The Committee was comprised of representatives from approximately 50 member states and held 82 sessions from June 1970 to March 1971. The end result would become INFCIRC/153 “The Structure and Content of Agreements Between the Agency and States Required in Connection with the Treaty on the Non- Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.” The document was approved by the IAEA Board of Governors in 1971 and published in June 1972. It serves as the basis for the negotiation of comprehensive safeguards agreements between the IAEA and non-nuclear-weapon States party to the NPT.1 It also provides technical elements included in voluntary offer agreements which the five nuclear weapon States (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States) have concluded with the Agency.