By Sanaa Alvira, IAEA Department of Safeguards

A new report, drawing on insights from past and present international nuclear safeguards, highlights milestones in IAEA safeguards, details ideas for action and showcases voices of the future to help strengthen nuclear verification worldwide. The report presents the outcomes of a week-long ‘Symposium on International Safeguards: Reflecting on the Past and Anticipating the Future’, held at IAEA Headquarters in Vienna in 2022. The Symposium provided a forum for nearly one thousand participants to identify challenges and opportunities in safeguards, cultivate partnerships and showcase research and ideas in support of the verification of the peaceful use of nuclear material.

“At the Symposium on International Safeguards, we brought together nuclear verification stakeholders from around the world to identify the challenges we face, as well as the innovations that can enable our collective success,” said IAEA Deputy Director-General and Head of the Department of Safeguards Massimo Aparo. “This report offers ideas for the safeguards community’s consideration. Our challenge now is to work together to move the most promising ideas forward and translate them into action. This is one of the ways we can continue to tackle the ever-changing demands on the IAEA safeguards system.”

The IAEA’s quadrennial Safeguards Symposium brought together State regulatory authorities, the research and development community, industry leaders, and civil society representatives during its five-day programme. The report reflects the thematic discussions from the Symposium, which also commemorated 60 years of IAEA safeguards inspections, 50 years of comprehensive safeguards agreements, and 25 years of additional protocols.

The symposium covered a variety of topics under three main objectives: reflect, anticipate, and inspire. Based on these objectives, several “ideas for action” were proposed. Categorized into six thematic areas, the ideas for action are intended for the consideration and engagement of the global safeguards community. The new report also reviews the progress made in implementing the previous ideas for action that emerged from the 2018 Safeguards Symposium.

“The insights and ideas for action contained within this report are a reflection of the aggregate experience and wisdom of the symposium presenters and other participants”, said Scientific Secretary to the Symposium and Team Leader of the Strategic Planning Team in the IAEA Department of Safeguards Jenni Rissanen. A total of 124 countries were represented among the participants, 34 more than in 2018. Women constituted 38 per cent of attendees and observers, and 60 per cent of session chairs and moderators. In addition, dedicated forums provided a voice for the next generation of experts and leaders. “Improving the diversity of the geographical, gender and generational representation of our speakers and participants was a major goal for us at the Safeguards Symposium in 2022,” said Rissanen.