Key Issues
Preventing the Proliferation of Nuclear Materials
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The International Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
The primary means of combating proliferation include:
Based in Vienna, IAEA is the world’s official nuclear inspectorate, with more than four decades of verification experience. Inspectors work to ensure that commercial nuclear materials and technologies are not used for military purposes. These inspections are conducted under safeguards agreements with more than 140 nations.
Nearly 200 nations are signatories to the NPT. Created in 1968, it permits ownership of nuclear weapons only by those five nations that possessed them at the treaty’s inception: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. These five states also pledged not to transfer nuclear weapons technology to other states and to reduce their own weapons stockpiles.
Safeguards in the Nonproliferation Treaty
Nations in compliance with the NPT agree to accept technical safeguards, which require them to maintain and declare detailed accounting records of the storage and movement of all nuclear materials. Acting under the treaty, the IAEA regularly inspects more than 350 civilian nuclear facilities. The system relies on:
The International Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
The primary means of combating proliferation include:
- global programs managed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the G8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction
- national and industrial programs managed by nations adhering to IAEA’s Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) restricting the possession of nuclear weapons.
Based in Vienna, IAEA is the world’s official nuclear inspectorate, with more than four decades of verification experience. Inspectors work to ensure that commercial nuclear materials and technologies are not used for military purposes. These inspections are conducted under safeguards agreements with more than 140 nations.
Nearly 200 nations are signatories to the NPT. Created in 1968, it permits ownership of nuclear weapons only by those five nations that possessed them at the treaty’s inception: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. These five states also pledged not to transfer nuclear weapons technology to other states and to reduce their own weapons stockpiles.
Safeguards in the Nonproliferation Treaty
Nations in compliance with the NPT agree to accept technical safeguards, which require them to maintain and declare detailed accounting records of the storage and movement of all nuclear materials. Acting under the treaty, the IAEA regularly inspects more than 350 civilian nuclear facilities. The system relies on:
- material accountability—including the sampling and analysis of nuclear material and verification of operating records
- physical security—restricting access to nuclear materials at the site
- containment and surveillance—the use of cameras, seals and other means to detect unreported movements or tampering.
