International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was the first of the international organisations to be based in Vienna. Besides its headquarters at the Vienna International Center the IAEA sustains research, teaching and safeguards analytical laboratories at Seibersdorf in Lower Austria.

Over the past few years, the IAEA and its 143 Member States have focused on upgrading levels of nuclear security, and safety worldwide through technical cooperation programmes and various cooperative channels. The Agency serves under UN Security Council mandate as the nuclear inspectorate in Iraq and has a key role in verifying the peaceful nature of nuclear programmes in countries including Iran, Libya, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Main tasks of the IAEA are:

• Assisting its Member States in the use of safe and peaceful nuclear technology
• Promoting radiological and nuclear safety
• Verifying, to the extent possible, that Member States who have pledged to use nuclear technology only for peaceful purposes respect that pledge

Austria’s interests within the IAEA are primarily nuclear safety and radiation protection, and safeguards against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Austria ascribes considerable importance to the Convention on Nuclear Safety, the second review conference of which was held in Vienna in April 2002. The high quality of the national reports on implementation submitted by the 53 signatories, and their detailed consideration by the conference, made it clear that nuclear safety is no longer a purely internal matter, but must be regarded as a global issue and ongoing process.

Austria expressly supports the development of the IAEA's new integrated monitoring system, which extends safeguard controls to all aspects of civilian nuclear programs, including research activities. An additional protocol will extend national responsibility to provide information and permit ad hoc and unannounced inspections by the IAEA. By the end of 2002, however, only 67 states and international organisations had signed additional protocols with the IAEA, including all the EU countries and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). Austria ratified the additional protocol in July 2001.

For further information see www.iaea.org