was established in accordance with the UN General Assembly resolution of December 3, 1955. Its Statute was signed on October 26, 1956, by 70 states, including the USSR, and came into force on July 29, 1957. Today, the IAEA brings together 151 states. Its headquarters is located in Vienna, Austria.
The IAEA works to facilitate international cooperation to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, strengthen non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and ensure the secure development of nuclear energy.
The IAEA is responsible for verifying compliance by its member states with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968 (NPT). This verification is conducted at 900 facilities around the world, including nuclear power plants, research reactors, nuclear fuel facilities, and nuclear fuel storage facilities.
The IAEA’s supreme authority is the General Conference, which holds annual sessions. In the time between sessions, the agency’s work is managed by the Board of Governors (of which Russia, like the USSR before it, is a permanent member).
The IAEA reports on an annual basis to the UN General Assembly and, when necessary, to the UN Security Council.