THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC

ENERGY AGENCY
(IAEA)
MILENE CRESPO VEROLA
SARA FERREIRÓS CÁNOVAS
SORAYA LUA ALONSO PINHEIRO

International Organisations And Institutions. (Sagrario) International

Relations URJC
TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction to the IAEA.

2. History of the organization.

3. Structure of the organization.

4. Current news about the organization.

5. Conclusion.
INTRODUCTION TO THE IAEA
-The origins of the international organisation:

-When was it created?

-The treaty or convention which constitutes the international organisation.

In response to the intense anxieties and hopes brought on by the discoveries and varied
applications of nuclear technology, the IAEA was established in 1957. The "Atoms for
Peace" speech delivered by US President Eisenhower to the UN General Assembly on
December 8, 1953, served as the impetus for the creation of the Agency. The International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) works to advance the safe, secure, and pacifist use of nuclear
technology. 1

The IAEA's work is governed by a number of treaties, which are crucial in creating
internationally enforceable laws in the subjects they address.

Treaties relating to the work of the IAEA cover a variety of subjects, such as the organization
of the Agency’s work, nuclear safety, security, safeguards and nuclear non-proliferation, and
civil liability for nuclear damage. They can be divided into three categories: treaties under
IAEA auspices; agreements to which the IAEA is a party; and IAEA-related treaties. 2

International agreements developed and signed by IAEA Member States with assistance from
the Agency's Secretariat are known as treaties under IAEA auspices. These treaties are
deposited with the Director General of the IAEA. Holding the original treaty texts, receiving
treaty instruments from States looking to join these treaties, and notifying States and the UN
of the treaties' official status are all responsibilities of the IAEA Office of Legal Affairs,
acting on behalf of the Director General. The following treaties are examples of this category:
Convention on Nuclear Safety, the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear
Material (CPPNM) and its Amendment, as well as a number of conventions on civil liability
for nuclear damage.

Organizational
-Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the IAEA

Nuclear Safety and Security

-Convention on Nuclear Safety
-Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive
Waste Management
-Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident
-Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency
1
History. (n.d.). IAEA.
2
Treaties. (n.d.). IAEA.
-Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material
-Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material

Nuclear Liability
-1963 Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage
-Optional Protocol Concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes (to the 1963 Vienna
Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage)
-Protocol to Amend the 1963 Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage
-Joint Protocol Relating to the Application of the Vienna Convention and the Paris
Convention
-Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage

Technical Co-operation
-Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to
Nuclear Science and Technology (RCA), 2017
-African Regional Co-operative Agreement for Research, Development and Training related
to Nuclear Science and Technology (AFRA)
-Co-operative Agreement for Arab States in Asia for Research, Development and Training
related to Nuclear Science and Technology ( the 2017 ARASIA)
-Agreement to further extend the Co-operation Agreement for the Promotion of Nuclear
Science and Technology in Latin America and the Caribbean (ARCAL)

Science and Technology

-Agreement on the Establishment of the ITER International Fusion Energy Organization for
the Joint Implementation of the ITER Project
-Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the ITER International Fusion Energy
Organization for the Joint Implementation of the ITER Project

The international agreements that the IAEA has signed with specific States or other
international organisations in its capacity as an international organisation are included in the
list of agreements to which it is a party. These agreements provide the IAEA powers and
responsibilities. Some notable instances include the IAEA Headquarters agreement with
Austria, the IAEA relationship agreement with the United Nations, all safeguards agreements
and all agreements relating to technical cooperation concluded by the IAEA with individual
States.

International agreements that were not reached under IAEA auspices and to which the IAEA
is not a party but are pertinent to the Agency's activities and may establish tasks and
responsibilities for the IAEA are referred to as IAEA-related treaties. Examples include the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), as well as regional
non-proliferation treaties.
IAEA-related treaties
-Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)
-Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (Tlatelolco Treaty)
-African Nuclear-Weapon-Free ZoneTreaty (Pelindaba Treaty)
-South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty (Rarotonga Treaty) (and Protocols)
-Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Bangkok)
-Agreement between the Republic of Argentina, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the
Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials (ABACC) and
the IAEA for the Application of Safeguards
-Verification Agreement between the IAEA and the European Atomic Energy Community
(EURATOM)
-Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter
(London Convention)
-International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)
-Convention Relating to Civil Liability in the Field of Maritime Carriage of Nuclear Material
(NUCLEAR)
-Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water
-Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy
-Brussels Convention Supplementary to the Paris Convention

-The objectives of the international organisation.

The Agency was established as the global branch of the "Atoms for Peace" movement. It was
given the mandate to collaborate with its Member States and other partners throughout the
world to promote safe, secure, and peaceful nuclear technology from the inception. Article II
of the IAEA Statute outlines the goals of the organization's twin purpose to control and
advance atomic energy.

“The Agency shall seek to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace,
health and prosperity throughout the world. It shall ensure, so far as it is able, that assistance
provided by it or at its request or under its supervision or control is not used in such a way as
to further any military purpose.”3

-Member States.
Total Membership: 176 (as of 3 January 2023)

Eighteen ratifications were required to bring the IAEA's Statute into force on 29 July 1957.

In the list below, the year denotes year of membership. The names of States are not
necessarily their historical designations. 4
3
IAEA: Statute of the IAEA.
4
List of Member States (s.f). IAEA
1957: Afghanistan; Albania; Argentina; Australia; Austria; Belarus; Brazil; Bulgaria;
Canada; Cuba; Denmark; Dominican Republic; Egypt; El Salvador; Ethiopia; France;
Germany; Greece; Guatemala; Haiti; Holy See; Hungary; Iceland; India; Indonesia; Israel;
Italy; Japan; Republic of Korea; Monaco; Morocco; Myanmar; Netherlands; New Zealand;
Norway; Pakistan; Paraguay; Peru; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Russian Federation; South
Africa; Spain; Sri Lanka; Sweden; Switzerland; Thailand; Tunisia; Turkey; Ukraine; United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; United States of America; Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela; Vietnam
1958: Belgium; Ecuador; Finland; Islamic Republic of Iran; Luxembourg; Mexico;
Philippines; Sudan
1959: Iraq
1960: Chile; Colombia; Ghana; Senegal
1961: Democratic Republic of the Congo; Lebanon; Mali
1962: Liberia; Saudi Arabia
1963: Algeria; Plurinational State of Bolivia; Côte d'Ivoire; Libya; Syrian Arab Republic;
Uruguay
1964: Cameroon; Gabon; Kuwait; Nigeria
1965: Costa Rica; Cyprus; Jamaica; Kenya; Madagascar
1966: Jordan; Panama
1967: Sierra Leone; Singapore; Uganda
1968: Liechtenstein
1969: Malaysia; Niger; Zambia
1970: Ireland
1972: Bangladesh
1973: Mongolia
1974: Mauritius
1976: Qatar; United Arab Emirates; United Republic of Tanzania
1977: Nicaragua
1983: Namibia
1984: China
1986: Zimbabwe
1992: Estonia; Slovenia
1993: Armenia; Croatia; Czech Republic; Lithuania; Slovakia
1994: Kazakhstan; Marshall Islands; North Macedonia; Uzbekistan; Yemen
1995: Bosnia and Herzegovina
1996: Georgia
1997: Latvia; Malta; Republic of Moldova
1998: Burkina Faso
1999: Angola; Benin
2001: Azerbaijan; Central African Republic; Serbia; Tajikistan
2002: Botswana; Eritrea
2003: Honduras; Kyrgyzstan; Seychelles
2004: Mauritania
2005: Chad
2006: Belize; Malawi; Montenegro; Mozambique
2007: Palau
2008: Nepal
2009: Bahrain; Burundi; Cambodia; Congo; Lesotho; Oman
2011: Lao People's Democratic Republic
2012: Dominica; Fiji; Papua New Guinea; Rwanda; Togo; Trinidad and Tobago
2013: Eswatini; San Marino
2014: Bahamas; Brunei Darussalam
2015: Antigua and Barbuda; Barbados; Djibouti; Guyana; Vanuatu
2016: Turkmenistan
2017: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
2018: Grenada
2019: Saint Lucia
2020: Comoros
2021: Samoa
2022: Saint Kitts and Nevis; Tonga
2023: The Gambia
__________

Total Membership: 176 (As of 3 January 2023)

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), which joined the IAEA in 1974,
withdrew its membership of the IAEA in 1994.

For the following States, membership has been approved by the IAEA General Conference
and will take effect once the State deposits the necessary legal instruments with the
depositary Government:
- Cabo Verde, Guinea.
 HISTORY OF THE ORGANIZATION

The aim for a new organization started around the year 1953, when U.S. president
Eisenhower proposed the creation of a body which was to be capable of controlling and
regulating atomic power. He also promoted the peaceful use of this potential weapon. From
his speech “Atoms for Peace”, we can highlight that his proposal was not only out of fear,
which in some ways it was, and to prevent a nuclear war from happening; but also to make a
responsible and fruitful use of atomic power, that could improve technologies and the use of
energy worldwide.

Nevertheless, it is important to take into account that, amidst these efforts from the president,
the Cold War was taking place, so it could make sense that at least one of the great
superpowers decided to regulate this dangerous energy as a way of prevention. The other
superpower at the moment, the Soviet Union, would not agree to this regulation unless the
United States were up to disarmament first, which they were not. That is why, although the
USSR agreed to a political common ground, it was not up for a disarmament, and this
agreement did not stop the arms race. 5

In 1954 the creation of the body was proposed to the General Assembly on the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, and its main goal was to take care of fissile material, which is material
capable of sustaining a nuclear fission chain reaction. The U.S began multilateral negotiations
among many countries, such as Canada, U.K, France or South Africa; and it did not count on
the Soviet Union, assuming that they would not take part in it. Eisenhower stated that the
organization would exist, even if the USSR was not a member.

The first conference called “International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic
Energy” was held in 1955, in Geneva, Switzerland. The statute that established the agency
was signed on October 26th 1956, and entered into force on July 29th, 1957. Surprisingly, the
USSR signed the ratification of the IAEA and agreed to take part in it, although not giving up
their nuclear power. That is the beginning of an organization that has had a long run until
present day.

After its creation.

Many things occurred after the creation of the IAEA which are significant to its history.

5
Fischer, David (1997). History of the International Atomic Energy Agency: The First Forty Years (PDF).
Vienna, Austria: International Atomic Energy Agency.
One of the first and most important ones is the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons, which was signed in 1968 and entered into force in 1970. The treaty had three main
points: no proliferation, disarmament, and peaceful use of atomic energy. Its main goal was to
achieve disarmament.Another main and tragic event was the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in
1986, in which a nuclear reactor exploded, destroying and evacuating the city of Chernobyl
(Ukraine), and counting on many victims. This event made the IAEA to increase security
measures in terms of atomic energy, and to make more efforts to promote nuclear safety.

In 2005, Mohamed ElBaradei, then president of the organization received a Nobel Peace
Prize, which gave recognition worldwide of the labor and importance of the organization.

Finally, in 2011 another nuclear disaster happened in Fukushima, Japan. Although this one
was believed to be caused by the natural disaster events of the earthquake and tsunami that hit
Japan right before it, it also raised an alarming voice of the dangers of nuclear reactors and its
failures.

STRUCTURE OF THE ORGANIZATION

The IAEA is divided into three principal main bodies, which are responsible for the
governance. These are:

● Board of Governors: this board is built by 35 member states. 22 of them are elected
by the IAEA General Conference and their membership lasts two years. The other 13
are elected by being countries with advanced technology regarding atomic energy.
The board is considered one of the two policy-makers of the IAEA and its goal is to
make recommendations to the General Conference, publish IAEA standards, and it’s
the responsible body for choosing the Director General. Its meetings occur five times
per year. 6

● General Conference: its members are the 176 members that make up the IAEA. Its
main goal is to approve or disagree with the propositions of the Board of Governors,
including the choice of the Director General. For this decision making, each member
counts with one single vote. To approve or disapprove, they need a two thirds
majority. For each meeting, which occurs once a year, the Conference picks a
President that only lasts for the duration of said Conference. 7

● Secretariat: it is also called the “Atoms for peace Agency”. Consists of a large body
led by the Director General. The main goal of the secretariat and the Director General,

6
IAEA. (2016, June 8). Board of governors. IAEA.
7
IAEA. (2016, June 8). General conference. IAEA.
 is to make sure the decisions made by the two other bodies are fulfilled. The director
changes every four years, and the current director is Rafael Grossi. 8

CURRENT NEWS ABOUT THE ORGANISATION

The IAEA strengthens the global nuclear safety and security framework. It identifies and
promotes best practices and safety standards and implements programs to assist states in
applying these standards. The IAEA is also a key player in the effort to prevent nuclear
terrorism.

To deeply understand its role in the international arena, I am going to talk about 3 recent
news items about the organization. The first one about the war in Ukraine, written on the 6th
of March 2023. It declares that it is the first war to be fought in the midst of a major nuclear
program facility. Therefore, it is the top priority for the International Atomic Energy Agency
at the moment. IAEA experts are on the ground and present at Ukraine's five nuclear power
plants, keeping the world continuously informed about the impact of the conflict on the
country's nuclear facilities.

Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi informed the IAEA’s Board of Governors the 6th
March 2023 about an agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran for the IAEA to proceed
with further monitoring and verification measures indispensable to the Agency to fulfill its
mission. Mr Grossi agreed with steps taken by Iran’s leadership to facilitate enhanced
cooperation and expedite the resolution of outstanding safeguards issues. He outlined recent
safeguard developments in Iran; IAEA nuclear safety, security and safeguards activities in
Ukraine, and touched upon numerous advancements in IAEA programmers and initiatives. 9

The second news I chose is from the 8th of March 2023, about a new development program
to boost Women’s careers in the nuclear field: the IAEA Lise Meitner Programme, to
celebrate International Women's Day 2023. It offers fellowships for master's degree programs
in nuclear-related studies and internship opportunities facilitated by the IAEA. 10

Mr. Grossi highlights the importance of helping to "bridge the gender gap in the nuclear field
and increase the number of women in leadership positions. The world needs nuclear
technology to help solve many of its most pressing problems, from climate change to energy
to food security. It cannot afford to forgo the contribution of women."

This new program is named after Austrian-Swedish physicist Lise Meitner, in honor of her
brilliance and courage as a pioneer and to inspire women to follow in her footsteps. Lise

8
IAEA. (2014, July 9). The "Atoms for peace" agency. IAEA.
9
IAEA Board of Governors: Iran, Ukraine and Peaceful Nuclear Pursuits. (s. f.). IAEA.
10
The IAEA Launches its New Professional Development Programme to Boost Women’s Careers in the Nuclear
Field: the IAEA Lise Meitner Programme. (s. f.). IAEA.
Meitner and her nephew Otto Robert Frisch provided the theoretical explanation of the
process that later became known as "nuclear fission".

Finally, the third new I’m going to talk about is addressed to the pediatric and pregnant
patients. Technological advances, progress made and the identification of challenges in the
medical uses of ionizing radiation were some of the key topics discussed at a meeting held on
the 14th of March 2023 at IAEA headquarters in Vienna, which focused on radiation
protection for pediatric and pregnant patients. The meeting was attended by more than 90
health professionals, radiation protection experts and regulators from 45 IAEA member
countries and 17 international organizations. 11

The participants, experts in areas related to the medical application of ionizing radiation in
diagnostic and interventional radiology, as well as in nuclear medicine and radiotherapy,
exchanged information on these specialized fields. They also noted the need to further
develop guidelines and tools so that improvements can be made to ensure that pediatric
patients and pregnant women undergoing radiological medical procedures receive the best
care, minimizing as far as possible the risks associated with radiation exposure.

In their discussions on new projects that involve different stakeholders and raise awareness of
radiological protection of pediatric and pregnant patients, participants again referred to the
Bonn Call to Action, initiated in 2012 by the IAEA and the World Health Organization. This
platform calls for a holistic approach and international cooperation aimed at identifying and
implementing solutions to address existing and emerging challenges. It also highlights 10
main actions and related sub-actions for strengthening radiation protection in medicine.

To sum up, the current priorities being addressed by the organization are the gender gap and
anti-radiation studies and improvements, in addition to the current global priority, the war in
Ukraine.

CONCLUSION

Overall, it can be stated that the IAEA is a fundamental organization regarding the regulatory
system of atomic energy around the globe.
Its treaties, especially, the Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, prevents an arms
race for conflict interests. It also united the different member’s perspectives and aims towards
a more fruitful atomic energetic advance.

Nevertheless, this organization, like many others, has its faults. One of them is that all the
decisions made by the Board of Governors and the Conference are not necessarily binding,
unless treaties are ratified. This makes it very difficult for important decisions to be

11
Innovation, Collaboration, and Communication to Enhance Radiation Protection for Paediatric and Pregnant
Patients Discussed at IAEA Meeting. (s. f.). IAEA.
unanimously fulfilled. Despite these faults, most member countries comply with the
Secretariat decisions.

On the other hand, the fact that most of the countries with atomic power are in the
organization is very useful. States like the U.S, Russia or Iran are member countries that
should, at least, be binded by the Treaties written. That is why North Korea not being part of
it is worrying for many.

Finally, current events, like the war in Ukraine, make this organization incredibly useful and
although it has its faults, it can be overall said that its existence prevented war in the past and
keeps preventing the use of atomic power for war motives and makes great improvements in
the positive use of atomic energy.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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