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Safeguards Noncompliance: A Challenge for the IAEA and the UN Security Council

The weakest link in the nonproliferation regime today is the performance of the international community in responding to cases of non-compliance, and the burden falls largely on the IAEA Board of Governors and the UN Security Council.

by Pierre Goldschmidt

published by

Arms Control Today

on February 1, 2010

Source: Arms Control Today

Safeguards Noncompliance: A Challenge for the IAEACompliance with safeguards obligations is a fundamental part of a country’s participation in the global nuclear nonproliferation regime. The issue of compliance was central to the contentious discussions at the 2005 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference and is likely to play a similar role at the 2010 conference.

The main objective of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as set out in its statute, is to promote "the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health, and prosperity throughout the world" while ensuring that nuclear material, equipment, facilities, and information are not used for any military purpose. The IAEA carries out the latter part of this mandate by establishing and implementing safeguards.

Nuclear Energy

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