The IAEA: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

From 11 July to 8 August, an exhibition "The IAEA: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow", dedicated to 55th anniversary from the establishment of the International Atomic Energy Agency, runs in the Official Documents Division (room 207).

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an independent intergovernmental organization within the UN system, the world’s leading forum for scientific and technical cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear technology. The agency was set up on 29 July, 1957. It is the day when the Statute of the organization came into force. At present 154 states are members of the IAEA. Its headquarters is located in Vienna.

The objects of the International Atomic Energy Agency are:

• promotion the development of nuclear energy and practical application of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes;
• promotion the policies of disarmament in the whole world;
• provision of safeguards that nuclear materials and equipment, designed for peaceful use, will not be used for military purposes;
• realization of the control system in non-proliferation of nuclear weapons;
• assistance research in the field of nuclear energy and the practical use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes;
• provision of information on all aspects of nuclear science and technology.

The IAEA supports research in the field of nuclear energy and helps member countries to acquire nuclear materials, technology services and equipment. It promotes the development of nuclear energy and the use of radioactive isotopes for medical and other peaceful purposes. The agency deals with the exchange of technical information and training specialists. In addition, the IAEA develops standards to ensure protection of people and the environment from the hazards of the nuclear power industry.

The major activity of the IAEA is a non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. According to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the IAEA must control the application of all obligations by the participants. The control functions of the Agency, so-called the IAEA safeguards, are designed to prevent countries, which haven’t nuclear weapons, from changing atomic energy for peaceful uses to nuclear weapons.

By signing the agreement, the parties, which haven’t nuclear weapons, undertook to conclude agreements with the Agency. They stipulate that the IAEA controls over all their peaceful nuclear activities. At present 237 safeguards agreements are signed with 171 states. The IAEA safeguards system is based primarily on the control of the use of nuclear materials and equipment, which is carried out by the IAEA inspectors at a spot.

The Republic of Belarus is one of the states - founders of the IAEA. Our country has a developed legal basis for cooperation with the Agency. Belarus is a participant of a number of international agreements under the auspices of the IAEA, including the Convention on Nuclear Safety, the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency and other legal acts.

The exhibition includes about 100 documents. A large part of the exposition are the IAEA documents in English and Russian: books, periodicals, mimeographed materials, brochures and booklets.

The exhibition includes the following sections:

• The history of establishment, objects and functions of the IAEA;
• The IAEA and the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons;
• The IAEA statutory and regulatory documents;
• The IAEA scientific programs;
• The IAEA technical assistance and cooperation;
• The Republic of Belarus and the IAEA.

The exhibition will be of great interest to specialists in the field of disarmament and security, nuclear energy, international relations, engineers and technicians, ecologists, political scientists, sociologists, as well as students, post-graduate students and teachers.

Useful references:

• Official website of the IAEA
• The UN website about the IAEA
• Nuclear sefety
• The Chernobyl disaster
• Iran’s nuclear program
• North Korea’s nuclear program
• The 2005 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) (2–27 May, 2005)
• Disarmament affairs

Key documents

• Annual reports
• Statute
• The board of governors
• The general conference

Publications

• IAEA primer
• The international nuclear and radiological event scale
• The incident and emergency centre
• Promoting nuclear security: what the IAEA is doing
• Promoting safety in nuclear installations
• Depleted uranium
• Improving human health
• Managing water resources using isotope hydrology