China
View country profileWhat has the NWS done so far (prior to the current Review Cycle)?
What is the NWS doing on this action in the current Review Cycle?
Sources
France
View country profileWhat has the NWS done so far (prior to the current Review Cycle)?
France has called for the universalisation of comprehensive safeguards agreements. The European Union has conducted outreach dialogue on this aspect, especially towards states which have not yet modified their original Small Quantities Protocols (SQP) to their Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements.
What is the NWS doing on this action in the current Review Cycle?
France and the EU have reiterated it supports the universalisation of the IAEA comprehensive safeguard agreements. France was one of the the countries providing direct contributions to launch the 2024-2026 COMPASS project, an initiative designed to help states build capacity for nuclear safeguards.
Sources
EU Statement on Agenda item 7(a): The conclusion of safeguards agreements and of additional protocols IAEA Board of Governors Vienna, 1-5 March 2021, https://www.eeas.europa.eu/sites/default/files/7a._eu_statement_on_iaea_safeguards_final.pdf
National Report submitted by France. Report submitted by France under actions 5, 20 and 21 of the Final Document of the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (2022–2026). NPT/CONF.2026/PC.III/2. 7 March 2025, https://docs.un.org/en/NPT/CONF.2026/PC.III/2
EU Statement at the General Debate 68th Regular Session of the General Conference International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Vienna, 16-20 September 2024, https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/24/09/hungary-on-behalf-of-eu-gc68.pdf
Working paper submitted by France. France’s support for the International Atomic Energy Agency. NPT/CONF.2026/PC.III/WP.11. 5 March 2025. https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n25/060/12/pdf/n2506012.pdf#:~:text=France%20is%20one%20of%20the,Technical%20Cooperation%20Fund%20in%202025.
Russia
View country profileWhat has the NWS done so far (prior to the current Review Cycle)?
What is the NWS doing on this action in the current Review Cycle?
Sources
United Kingdom
View country profileWhat has the NWS done so far (prior to the current Review Cycle)?
What is the NWS doing on this action in the current Review Cycle?
Sources
United States
View country profileWhat has the NWS done so far (prior to the current Review Cycle)?
As a Nuclear Weapon State, the United States is not required to agree to a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement. Instead, it maintains a Voluntary Offer Agreement and its Additional Protocol came into force in 2009, granting the IAEA expanded rights to obtain a much fuller picture of the United States’ nuclear program and fuel cycle.
Prior to the current Review Cycle, the United States’ National Nuclear Security Administration conducted targeted engagement with US partner countries to provide assistance with safeguards implementation. In 2008, the NNSA established the Next Generation Safeguards Initiative (NGSI) “to develop the policies, concepts, technologies, expertise, and international safeguards infrastructure necessary to strengthen and sustain the international safeguards system as it evolves to meet new challenges.” As part of NGSI, NNSA’s Office of International Nuclear Safeguards coordinates collaborations with international partners to jointly advance safeguards technologies through the International Nuclear Safeguards Engagement (INSEP) program.
Prior to the current Review Cycle, some of these international engagements included:
- Developing a video surveillance system to support unannounced inspections for the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials (ABACC).
- Establishing a secure link to engage in regional cooperation in remote monitoring between Sandia National Laboratories, Idaho National Laboratory, and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute.
- Testing the security of various communication links in collaboration with the European Joint Research Centre.
What is the NWS doing on this action in the current Review Cycle?
During the current Review Cycle, the United States’ National Nuclear Security Administration continued to conduct targeted engagement with US partner countries to provide assistance with safeguards implementation.
Some of these engagements included:
- In 2023, leading the first demonstration of Wide Area Environmental Sampling, which could support the IAEA in verifying the absence of undeclared nuclear activities.
- In 2024, launching an IAEA Centre of Excellence for Safeguards and Non-Proliferation at a Urenco facility in the United Kingdom with NNSA support.
- In 2024, expanding partnerships with with U.S. advanced nuclear developers to integrate international nuclear safeguards and security considerations into their designs.
Sources
U.S. Department of Energy. “Office of International Nuclear Safeguards.” National Nuclear Security Administration, https://www.energy.gov/documents/nnsas-next-generation-safeguards-initiative-brochure.
Baldwin, George, and Mongiello, Risa. “International Nuclear Safeguards Cooperation.” Sandia National Laboratories. SAND 2011-XXXX. January 2011. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1110551.
U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration. "2024 NNSA Year in Review: Making Our Vision a Reality." December 2024. https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2024-12/2024%20NNSA%20Year%20in%20Review_508.pdf.
U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration. "2023 NNSA Year in Review: Making Our Vision a Reality." February 2024. https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2024-02/NNSA%202023%20Year%20In%20Review_0.pdf.