INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY Personal Reflections

324 Pages·2003·1.86 MB·English

IAEA_PersRefl.qxd 10.01.2003 11:03 Uhr Seite 1
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History of the International Atomic Energy Agency:
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The text of the history covers the period from the time of o NTERNATIONAL
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in December 1953 to the end of 1997.
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David Fischer took part in the negotiations on y GENCY

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served on the Preparatory Commission for the Agency. g
From 1957 to 1976 he was the Agency’s Director for e
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In 1981 and 1982 he acted as consultant to the Director General y Personal Reflections
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ISBN 92–0–102497–5 n
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IAEA_PersRefl.qxd 10.01.2003 11:03 Uhr Seite 2
The ‘temporary’ In 1979, the Austrian
headquarters of Government and
the IAEAin the City of Vienna
the Grand Hotel, on completed construction
the Ringstrasse in of the Vienna
central Vienna. International Centre
The Agency remained (VIC), next to the
there for some Donaupark, which
twenty years, until 1979. became the permanent
home of the IAEAand
other UN organizations.
Austria generously made
the buildings and
facilities at the VIC
available at
the ‘peppercorn’ rent
of one Austrian Schilling
a year.
IAEA_PersRefl.qxd 10.01.2003 11:03 Uhr Seite 2
The ‘temporary’ In 1979, the Austrian
headquarters of Government and
the IAEAin the City of Vienna
the Grand Hotel, on completed construction
the Ringstrasse in of the Vienna
central Vienna. International Centre
The Agency remained (VIC), next to the
there for some Donaupark, which
twenty years, until 1979. became the permanent
home of the IAEAand
other UN organizations.
Austria generously made
the buildings and
facilities at the VIC
available at
the ‘peppercorn’ rent
of one Austrian Schilling
a year.

INTERNATIONAL
ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY:
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

I N T E R N AT I O N A L
AT O M I C E N E R G Y A G E N C Y:
P E R S O N A L R E F L E C T I O N S
VIC Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
International Atomic Energy Agency : personal reflections. — Vienna :
The Agency,1997.
p. ; 24 cm.
“AFortieth Anniversary Publication.”
ISBN 92–0–102497–5
Includes bibliographical references.
1. International Atomic Energy Agency—Personal narratives.
I.International Atomic Energy Agency.
VICL 92-00173
© IAEA1997
Permission to reproduce or translate the information contained in
this publication may be obtained by writing to:
Division of Publications
International Atomic Energy Agency
Wagramerstrasse 5
P.O. Box 100
A-1400 Vienna
Austria
STI/PUB/1033
ISBN 92–0–102497–5
Printed by the IAEAin Austria
September 1997
P E R S O N A L R E F L E C T I O N S
PREFACE
by the Director General of the IAEA
This set of personal recollections reflect a variety of views from twenty-
five people who have played major roles in shaping the policies of the
IAEAor have made notable contributions to its work at different periods
ofits history. They provide individual insights — often from a rarely available
insider’s perspective — into particular aspects of the development of an
international organization and thus complement the History of the IAEA
written by David Fischer.
It is worth recalling that the IAEA occupies a special place amongst
organizations in the United Nations family in that part of its work is directly
related to peace and security in the world through the verification of com-
mitments by States to use nuclear material and installations exclusively for
peaceful purposes. It has direct access to the Security Council and it reports
directly each year to the General Assembly. This ‘safeguards’ responsibility is
combined with a mandate to promote the peaceful uses of nuclear energy — in
such fields as a nuclear power, nuclear and radiation safety, and applications of
radiation and isotope techniques in agriculture, human health and hydrology.
The articles in this collection illustrate some of the complexities involved
in the work of an international organization, where the Governing Bodies
consist of over a hundred Member States, with different levels of industrial
development, different political outlooks and different interests in the benefits
of nuclear energy or concerns about the spread of nuclear weapons.
The views expressed in the articles are those of the individual authors and
do not necessarily represent the views of the IAEAor of its Member States.
I would like to take this opportunity to pay special tribute to my prede-
cessor as Director General of the IAEA, Sigvard Eklund, to whose outstanding
leadership over a period of twenty years much of the successful development
of the IAEAis due — a fact that clearly emerges from the contributions in this
book. We hope that he will ensure that his own rich recollections will be pub-
lished.
I would like to thank all the authors of the articles in this book for their
contributions, which I trust readers will find as enjoyable as I have.
Hans Blix