Keynote Address: Rafael Mariano Grossi, “Eisenhower’s ‘Atoms for Peace’ vision is being tested. This is how we respond.”

“Eisenhower’s ‘Atoms for Peace’ vision is being tested — this is how we respond”: A keynote address by Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 

A little more than 70 years ago, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his famous Atoms for Peace speech before the UN General Assembly, urging the international community to use nuclear fission for the betterment of the world rather than to fuel more destructive wars.The system built on the foundations of Eisenhower’s vision, which includes the International Atomic Energy Agency, has helped limit drastically the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The vast majority of countries regularly reaffirm their commitment to non-proliferation, and some that had in the past harbored an illegal nuclear weapons programs have come back into the fold. 

But the system is being tested, more today than it has for at least a decade. North Korea continues its illegal nuclear weapons program and Iran has enriched a significant amount of uranium to almost weapon grade. Meanwhile, countries so far in good standing with the Non-Proliferation Treaty have openly considered the option of acquiring a nuclear weapon and leaders in other countries have even openly discussed the potential of nuclear weapons used in a war. 

In laying out these challenges and how to address them, the IAEA’s Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi will point to the importance, not only of nuclear safeguards, but also of fulfilling the other side of the “Atoms for Peace” bargain: the global expansion of the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology. 

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