Global Issues: Atomic Energy

Introduction

Nearly at the same time, the UN and the nuclear age began. The atrocities of the Second World War, which culminated in the nuclear explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, made obvious how urgently the nuclear problem needed to be addressed. The UN Atomic Energy Commission was created by the General Assembly's first resolution to address the issues brought on by the discovery of atomic energy. And the International Atomic Energy Agency was founded in 1957 as a result of Dwight D. Eisenhower's historic 1953 speech, "Atoms for Peace" (IAEA).

The International Atomic Energy Agency works with its Member States and multiple partners worldwide

The International Atomic Energy Agency promotes the safe, secure, and pacific use of nuclear technologies through collaborating with its Member States and other partners around the world. A 1957 agreement that governs interactions between the IAEA and the UN. "The Agency undertakes to conduct its activities in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter to promote peace and international cooperation, in conformity with policies of the United Nations furthering the establishment of safeguarded global disarmament, and in conformity with any international agreements entered into pursuant to such policies," it states.

Numerous nuclear energy sources

By 2021, 443 nuclear reactors will be producing power in 32 different nations, and 55 more will be under development. 13 nations relied on nuclear energy to provide at least 25 percent of their total electricity as of the end of 2018. Nuclear energy even accounts for more than half of the total electricity produced in France, Slovakia, and Ukraine.

Atomic Safety

Every country that uses nuclear technology is accountable for nuclear safety. The Department of Nuclear Safety and Security of the IAEA seeks to establish a robust, long-lasting, and widely-recognized global nuclear safety and security framework for the defense of individuals, society, and the environment. This framework enables the coordinated creation and implementation of safety and security criteria, recommendations, and standards, but it is not mandated to compel the use of safety standards across a nation.

The 1986 Chernobyl plant accident

The reactor's poor design, combined with poorly qualified operators, led to the 1986 Chernobyl plant accident in Ukraine.

The Soviet government made the decision to predominantly address the effects of the explosion at a national level during the first four years following the Chernobyl tragedy. Without Soviet assistance, the United Nations and its allies looked for ways to offer emergency aid, which included evaluating the contamination site's environmental and nuclear safety, as well as identifying the accident's numerous medical issues.

International cooperation in nuclear safety was significantly increased following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident, leading to the development and adoption of four international safety conventions, two codes of conduct, fundamental safety principles, and a set of widely regarded IAEA Safety Standards. International agreement on what constitutes a high level of safety for shielding people and the environment from the detrimental effects of ionizing radiation is reflected in the IAEA Safety Standards.

Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant

The Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power station sustained significant damage in March 2011 as a result of equipment failure caused by the tsunami that followed the 9.0 magnitude big east-Japan earthquake. Since the Chernobyl accident in 1986, it was the biggest nuclear accident to affect civilians. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated after the damaged plant spewed radioactive waste. A group of specialists in nuclear safety, emergency response, and radiation protection were quickly assembled by the IAEA's Incident and Emergency Centre, which was activated in full response mode. The Center gathered information, analyzed it, and regularly updated the IAEA member states, international agencies, the media, and the general public.

The IAEA held a Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety three months later. This cleared the path for the IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety to be unanimously approved by IAEA member states in September 2011, which subsequently encouraged international cooperation to improve nuclear safety around the world.

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)

The IAEA performs on-site inspections in accordance with the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to make sure that nuclear materials are only utilized for peaceful purposes. Its inspectors were instrumental in identifying and dismantling Iraq's prohibited weapons programs and capabilities prior to the 2003 Iraq War. For their efforts "to ensure that nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes in the safest manner possible and to prevent nuclear energy from being exploited for military objectives," the Agency and its Director General, Mohamed ElBaradei, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.

The UN Conference on Disarmament

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was created by the UN Conference on Disarmament, the only multilateral negotiation venue on disarmament, and it was approved in 1996. The Office for Disarmament Affairs advocates for non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament. The 1992 Principles on the use of nuclear power sources in space were produced by the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. The UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation publishes reports on the incidence and consequences of ionizing radiation exposure, serving as the foundation for international safety and security regulations.

Addressing the danger of nuclear terrorism

The Vienna, 1980 Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism are two more UN initiatives that address the threat of nuclear terrorism (2005).

Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones (NWFZ)

A regional strategy for bolstering international nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament norms and coordinating peace and security activities is the creation of Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones (NWFZ). Nothing in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) limits a group of States' ability to sign regional treaties to guarantee the complete absence of nuclear weapons on their separate territory, according to Article VII of the treaty.

The existing nuclear-weapon-free zones are established by the following treaties:

Treaty of Tlatelolco — Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean
Treaty of Rarotonga — South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty
Treaty of Bangkok — Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone
Treaty of Pelindaba — African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty
Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia