The IAEA at the NPT Review Conference

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was opened for signature in 1968 and entered into force in 1970. As set out in Article VIII of the Treaty, the Parties agreed to regularly monitor the implementation of the NPT and hold a conference to review the operation of the Treaty five years after its entry into force, with further conferences every five years. The IAEA, which has a major verification role under the Treaty and facilitates international cooperation in peaceful nuclear uses, has participated in this review process, and its roles and contributions have been recognized by the Parties at all NPT Review Conferences.

Ahead of the first Review Conference, held in 1975, the IAEA prepared a technical report on its activities in connection with Article III (on safeguards), as well as working papers on its activities under Article IV (on peaceful nuclear cooperation) and Article V (on nuclear explosions for peaceful purposes).

The IAEA report on Article III dealt essentially with Agency safeguards under the NPT, made a brief comparison with non-NPT safeguards, discussed financing of safeguards and provided financial and statistical data on the situation as at 31 December 1974. Moreover, it reproduced communications received in relation to exports of nuclear material and included a brief discussion of physical protection measures. The report on Article IV described the IAEA’s activities between 1964 and 1974 relating to technical assistance, the exchange of equipment and material, the exchange of scientific and technical information and international cooperation. The report on Article V described the history of the IAEA’s work on peaceful nuclear explosions, starting with the establishment of an ad hoc committee by the Board of Governors in 1969.

The IAEA continued to submit reports on its activities under Articles III and IV to each of the subsequent eight Review Conferences. As the IAEA’s work on nuclear explosions for peaceful purposes was finished in 1977, a report for the years 1976–1977, updating the information presented at the first NPT Review Conference, was presented at the second Review Conference and then discontinued.

The IAEA Director General continued to address the NPT Review Conferences and refer to their outcome and possible impact on IAEA programmes and activities in statements to the IAEA’s Board of Governors.

In a statement to the June 1995 Board of Governors meeting, Director General Hans Blix informed the Board that the IAEA’s Secretariat had submitted reports to the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference on the IAEA’s activities of relevance to the NPT, had described the IAEA’s safeguards and technical cooperation activities to the Conference, and had made staff available to the Conference Secretariat throughout the Conference. The Director General also said that, during the Conference, the IAEA had been expressly recognized as the competent authority responsible for verifying and ensuring compliance with safeguards agreements. Additionally, the Conference had called for support for the IAEA Board of Governor’s actions designed to strengthen safeguards, as well as for an increase in the IAEA’s capability for detecting undeclared nuclear activities. There had also been a recommendation that nuclear material released from military use be placed under IAEA safeguards as soon as practicable.

In his statement to the June 2000 Board of Governors meeting, Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said that the 2000 NPT Review Conference had requested the IAEA to continue to identify the financial and human resources needed to effectively and efficiently meet all of its responsibilities, and had strongly urged all States to ensure that the IAEA was provided with those resources.

In his statement to the June 2005 Board of Governors meeting, Mr ElBaradei noted with regret the inability of the States party to the NPT to agree on how to strengthen the implementation of the Treaty and that, despite the outcome, challenges remained and had to be addressed. He also mentioned a need to universalize the IAEA’s authority under the additional protocol, tighten control over and dissemination of proliferation sensitive aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle while ensuring supply, enhance mechanisms for dealing with non-compliance and accelerate progress towards nuclear disarmament.

In his statement to the June 2010 Board of Governors meeting, Director General Yukiya Amano welcomed the fact that the 2010 NPT Review Conference had unanimously adopted Conclusions and Recommendations for Follow-on Actions in the three areas related to IAEA’s activities and that it was very encouraging that a call had been made to all States parties to the NPT to ensure that the IAEA continued to have all the political, technical and financial support it needed in order to effectively meet its responsibilities.

In 2015, Mr Amano told the Board that he welcomed the strong support expressed by NPT States Parties for the work of the IAEA during the 2015 NPT Review Conference. He also mentioned that despite the absence of a final document at the NPT Review Conference, he was confident that the States Parties would continue their work to achieve the objectives of the Treaty and that the IAEA remained ready to make its expertise available, as requested.

At the forthcoming 2020 NPT Review Conference, scheduled for January 2022, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi will deliver a statement on the IAEA’s relevant work in implementing NPT Articles III and IV. Background papers submitted to the Conference, elaborate on the IAEA’s efforts since the 2015 NPT Review Conference to verify States’ compliance with their safeguards agreement, and IAEA support in fostering international cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The papers also summarize the IAEA’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which includes the continued implementation of safeguards, and assistance to countries in the rapid detection and surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.