What is the IAEA?

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) serves as the world's central intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical cooperation in the nuclear field. It is also the international inspectorate for the application of nuclear safeguards inspections to verify states' adherence to their commitments to use nuclear materials only for peaceful purposes. As an autonomous body in the UN family, the IAEA came into being in 1957, a few years after US President Eisenhower proposed the creation of a special agency in his historic "Atoms for Peace" speech to the UN General Assembly. Today a wide range of IAEA products, services and programmes reflect the cooperative efforts and interests of the agency's 131 Member States.

What does the IAEA do?

The IAEA works to foster the role of nuclear science and technology in support of sustainable human development. This involves both advancing knowledge and exploiting this knowledge to tackle pressing worldwide challenges such as hunger, disease, natural resource management, environmental pollution and climate change. A substantial part of the agency's work relates to the development of nuclear power, including its safety and waste management aspects, and also to ensure that nuclear technology is being used for only peaceful purposes.

In this latter regard, the agency verifies Member States' compliance with international treaties designed to prevent nuclear materials from being diverted for military purposes. This pioneering role in preventing the further spread of nuclear weapons involves applying safeguards at over 900 facilities in some 70 countries, including more than 10,000 person-days of inspection.

Without the safeguards system, international trade in nuclear equipment, fuels and technology would be impossible. A re-examination of safeguards efficiency and effectiveness led to the recent adoption of an Additional Protocol to existing safeguards agreements, thus providing the basis for a greatly strengthened inspection system.

Another area of continuing emphasis is nuclear safety, as the future role of nuclear energy depends critically on a consistent, demonstrated record of safety in all applications. Although the IAEA is not a regulatory body, its nuclear safety efforts are directed inter alia toward creating multilateral, legally binding agreements which are increasingly important mechanisms for improving nuclear, radiation and waste safety around the world.

IAEA safety recommendations are used by many countries as a basis for standards and rules. Codes of practice and safety guides have been developed for the siting, design, operation and quality assurance of nuclear power plants. Evaluations performed on request, including on-site reviews of nuclear power plants by international expert teams, further contribute to strengthening operational safety globally.

The IAEA's programmes to foster peaceful nuclear applications, while diverse, are closely linked to its established role in facilitating transfer of technology. Many of these programmes contribute directly or indirectly to the goals of sustainable development and protection of the environment set out in Agenda 21 of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. The agency also has two scientific laboratories, the Marine Environment Laboratory in Monaco and the Seibersdorf Laboratories in Austria, where training and research are performed in support of technical cooperation and assistance activities. Many of these activities are conducted in conjunction with the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). The agency cooperates in a joint division with the FAO promoting applications of isotopes and radiation in food and agriculture. These include areas such as plant breeding and genetics, insect and pest control, soil fertility, irrigation and crop production, animal husbandry and food preservation.

Structure and Financial Resources

The policy-making organs of the IAEA are the Board of Governors and the General Conference. The General Conference is composed of representatives of the IAEA's entire membership, currently 131 Member States. The Board of Governors presently has 35 members, of which 13 are designated by the board and 22 are elected by the General Conference. The board will in future be expanded to 43 members. The Board of Governors generally meets five times a year--in March and June, in September immediately before and after the regular annual session of the General Conference, and following the meeting of its Technical Assistance and Co-operation Committee in December.

The General Conference, consisting of all Member States, meets once a year to consider, among other things, the Board of Governors' report for the previous year, to approve the accounts and programme and budget, and to approve any applications for membership. It has the authority to request from the board reports on any questions relating to the functions of the agency. During its regular annual session, the conference conducts a wide ranging general debate on the IAEA's policies and programme, and examines a variety of matters brought to its attention by the board, the Director General and individual Member States. Delegates from Member States annually address the General Conference in brief statements.

The board examines and makes recommendations to the General Conference on the IAEA's accounts, programme and budget, and considers applications for membership; it also approves safeguards agreements and the publication of the IAEA's safety standards. In addition the board has the responsibility for appointing, with the approval of the General Conference, the Director General of the IAEA.

IAEA financial resources fall into two categories: the regular budget and voluntary contributions. During 1998, the agency operated on a regular budget of US$226 million and also used slightly more than US$30.1 million in extrabudgetary funds for important activities in support of programmes. The 1998 target for voluntary contributions to the Technical Co-operation Fund was set at US$71.5 million, of which US$53.4 million was pledged by Member States.

IAEA Secretariat

The IAEA secretariat carries out programmes and activities approved by the agency's policy-making organs. The secretariat is headed by the Director General, who is the chief administrative officer and is appointed for a term of four years. The current IAEA Director General is Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, who was appointed on 1 December 1997. The Director General is assisted by Deputy Directors General, heading six departments. These departments are: Technical Co-operation, Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Safety, Management, Nuclear Science and Applications, and Safeguards. In addition to these departments, the Office of the Director General contains the secretariat of the Policy Making Organs, the External Relations and Policy Co-ordination Office, and the Internal Audit Office.

At the end of 1998, there were 2,133 staff members of the secretariat--847 in the professional and higher categories and 1,286 in the general service category. These figures represent 1,676 regular, 278 temporary assistance and 179 extrabudgetary staff. Ninety-five nationalities were represented among the 684 staff members in posts subject to geographical distribution.

IAEA and Non-Governmental Organizations

In keeping with the IAEA's statute--which authorizes the agency to establish appropriate relations with "any organization the work of which is related to that of the Agency"--19 non-governmental organizations have formal consultative status with the IAEA. Twenty others have been invited by the IAEA Board of Governors as observers to the General Conference or to undertake specific tasks.

Those with consultative status are the following.

The European Atomic Forum
The European Confederation of Agriculture
The International Air Transport Association
The International Cargo Handling Co-ordination Association
The International Chamber of Commerce
The International Commission on Radiological Protection
The International Commission on Radiation Unit and Measurements
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
The International Co-operative Alliance
The International Council of Scientific Unions
The International Federation for Documentation
The International Federation of Industrial Producers of Electricity for Own Consumption
The International Organization for Standardization
The International Union for Inland Navigation
The International Union of Producers and Distributors of Electrical Energy
The Japan Industrial Atomic Forum, Inc.
The World Confederation of Labour
The World Energy Council
The World Federation of United Nations Associations

In addition, certain NGOs with no formal consultative status but interested in developing uses of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes are invited to send observers to the regular session of the agency's General Conference.

Those with observer status include the following.

The American Nuclear Society
The Canadian Nuclear Association
The European Nuclear Society
The European Physical Society
The Institute of Nuclear Materials Management
The International Economic Association for Arranging Co-operation in the Manufacture and Deliveries of Equipment and Technical Assistance in the Construction of Atomic Power Stations (IEA Interatomenergo)
The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
The International Nuclear Energy Academy
The International Nuclear Law Association
The International Nuclear Societies Council
The International Radiation Protection Association
The International Union of Radioecology
The Nuclear Energy Institute
The Pacific Nuclear Council
The Programme for Promoting Nuclear Non-Proliferation
The Trade Unions International of Workers in Energy
The Uranium Institute
The World Association of Nuclear Operators
The World Council of Nuclear Workers
The World Nuclear Transport Institute

The IAEA Director General may request NGOs having special competence in a particular field to undertake specific studies or investigations, or to prepare papers for the agency.

NGOs with consultative status are allowed certain privileges and facilities in connection with meetings of the General Conference and the Board of Governors. These include the right to receive the provisional agendas of the conference; the right to send observers to all public meetings of the General Conference and of the board; the right to submit written statements to any organ of the agency, subject to censorship by the Director General; the right to submit oral statements to committees of the General Conference or before public meetings of the board, subject to various restrictions; the right to be invited by the Director General to other meetings convened by the agency; the right to consult with members of the secretariat; and the right to have access to any document services established for the press and to the agency's library.

Arrangements have also been made with NGOs active in the field of electric power and energy economics for the exchange of statistics and documents, and for attendance at each other's meetings. For example, representatives of the International Union of Producers and Distributors of Electric Energy and the World Energy Council have participated in the agency's activities and in close collaboration with the IAEA on matters of mutual interest.

The IAEA considers it of critical importance to have effective interaction with civil society (non-governmental organizations, the nuclear community, professional associations, academia and the private sector) with a view to increasing the transparency of its work and achieving greater outreach to the general public.

Publications and Public Information

The IAEA is a major publisher in the nuclear and related fields with more than 170 books, reports and journal issues produced in English annually. Additionally, the agency issues numerous publications in Arabic, Chinese, Russian, French and Spanish.

The agency's Division of Public Information produces numerous publications free of charge including the IAEA Bulletin and specialized booklets. Copies of these can be obtained by writing to: Division of Public Information, International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagramerstrasse 5, PO Box 100, A-1400 Vienna, Austria, telephone, fax?. Electronic editions are available on IAEA's website (www.iaea.org).