IAEA Safeguards: Cooperation as the Key to Change

The IAEA is responsible for providing assurancesto the international communitythat states are in compliance with theircommitments to use nuclear material,equipment, and technology for peaceful,non-explosive purposes. Through its safeguardssystem it deters the proliferation ofnuclear weapons, by detecting early themisuse of nuclear material and technology.These strategic objectives apply to allstates with a Comprehensive SafeguardsAgreement in place, whether they implementan Additional Protocol or not.Unfortunately, experience has shownthat the safeguards system has not been aseffective as it should be, nor has it beenimplemented as efficiently as it couldbe. Despite the adoption of measuresto strengthen the system over the years,events in a number of countries havedemonstrated systemic deficiencies. Inmost of these cases, safeguards were implementedsuccessfully at declared facilities,while undeclared nuclear activities tookplace unnoticed by the agency. If we areto move forward successfully, to maintainour capability to provide soundly-basedsafeguards conclusions, these defi