THE 'LANDSCAPE' OF NUCLEAR SAFEGUARDS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL SYSTEMS (original) (raw)

The notion of 'nuclear non-proliferation' is twofold. It refers to: (a) reduction of the number of existing arsenals (disarm or vertical non-proliferation), and (b) containment of the number of States that possess nuclear weapons or the control of non-state actors who can use such weapons (horizontal non-proliferation). Different sources of the law exist at the international and regional level for addressing the issue. At the international law level, the main legal text for addressing the issue, both on the side of vertical and horizontal non-proliferation, is the international Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). For the implementation of the principles contained in the NPT, a 'nuclear safeguards' system has been created, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been assigned the role of the nuclear 'watchdog' for the NPT. At the regional level, with respect to horizontal non-proliferation, there are bilateral or multilateral agreements that ban weapons of mass destruction in certain areas (Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones, NWFZ, treaties), and denuclearization treaties. They contain norms about verification and compliance, and some of them institute a specific agency that complements the IAEA. Along with IAEA system of safeguards and NWFZ bodies, there are regional safeguards bodies: (a) the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) model is the cornerstone of no-proliferation of nuclear material in the EU, while (b) the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting for and Control of Nuclear Materials (ABACC) has the function to control nuclear activities developed in Brazil and Argentina. Therefore, this study aims at critically and comparatively analysing the different safeguards systems adopted at the international and regional level.