“The Agency shall seek to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health, and prosperity throughout the world. It shall ensure that assistance provided by it or at its request or under its supervision is not used in such a way as to further any military purpose."
-Article II of the I.A.E.A. Statue. July 29, 1957.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Archives
Eisenhower delivering his "Atoms for Peace" speech. Image courtesy of the Eisenhower Archives.
“Eisenhower's appeal to the United Nations marked the beginning of non-proliferation efforts by the United States as policy makers began to believe that their responsibility was to dismantle the worldwide nuclear arsenal." -Friedrich Dahl, analyst for Reuters The flag of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The formation of the I.A.E.A. marked a turning point in nuclear politics. The United States claimed responsibility to communicate with other nations about nuclear weapons, thus encouraging international cooperation. Additionally, the U.S. began to believe a nation should not have unlimited rights of nuclear use. |
President Dwight D. Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" speech to the United Nations. Video courtesy of the Dag Hammarskjold Library.
Eisenhower's proposal led to the formation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (I.A.E.A.):
“In September 1956, the Conference on the Statute of the I.A.E.A. took place at the United Nations Headquarters... Soon after the entry into force of the Agency's Statute, a relationship agreement was approved by the IAEA's Board of Governors and General Conference in October 1957 and by the United Nations General Assembly a month later." -Kurt Waldheim, Secretary General of the United Nations, 1972-1981 Both the United States and the Soviet Union were original members of the I.A.E.A., ratifying the statute in 1957. “[The I.A.E.A.] assists its Member States, in the context of social and economic goals, in planning for and using nuclear science and technology for various peaceful purposes." - The I.A.E.A. Mission Statement The proposal suggested that disarmament would be gradual. The International Atomic Energy Agency's original headquarters in Vienna, Austria. Image courtesy of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
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1. To encourage and assist research on atomic energy for peaceful uses throughout the world; and, if requested to do so, to act as an intermediary for the purposes of securing the performance of services or the supplying of materials, equipment, or facilities by one member of the Agency for another;
2. To make provision for materials, services, equipment, and facilities to meet the needs of research on, and development and practical application of, atomic energy for peaceful purposes;
3. To foster the exchange of scientific and technical information on peaceful uses of atomic energy;
4. To encourage the exchange of training of scientists and experts in the field of peaceful uses of atomic energy;
5. To establish and administer safeguards designed to ensure that special fissionable and other materials, services, equipment, facilities, and information made available by the Agency or at its request or under its supervision or control are not used in such a way as to further any military purpose;