Previous Year Question
Consider the following statements:
The Nuclear Security Summits are periodically held under the aegis of the United Nations.
The International Panel on Fissile Materials is an organ of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer: D
Detailed Solution
Statement 1 is incorrect.
The Nuclear Security Summit process was not instituted under the aegis of the United Nations. The initiative was announced by US President Barack Obama in 2009, principally to strengthen the security of vulnerable nuclear material and reduce the risk of nuclear terrorism.
Four summits were held:
2010—Washington, DC, United States
2012—Seoul, Republic of Korea
2014—The Hague, Netherlands
2016—Washington, DC, United States
The UN and the IAEA participated in and supported the broader global nuclear-security architecture, but the summit process itself was not a periodically held UN conference.
Statement 2 is also incorrect.
The International Panel on Fissile Materials, or IPFM, is not an organ of the IAEA. It is an independent international group of experts on arms control and non-proliferation from nuclear-weapon and non-nuclear-weapon States.
Its policy and technical work primarily concerns:
Ending the production of Highly Enriched Uranium and separated Plutonium for weapons.
Securing and reducing existing fissile-material stockpiles.
Supporting policy discussions on arrangements such as a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty.
The IAEA, in contrast, is an autonomous intergovernmental organisation associated with the UN system. Its functions include nuclear safeguards and verification, nuclear safety and security, and the peaceful application of nuclear technology. Similarity of subject matter does not make IPFM an organ of the IAEA.
Current position (2026): The 2016 Washington meeting was officially described as the fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit. No subsequent summit in that series has been held. International nuclear-security cooperation continues through the IAEA, UN and other multilateral mechanisms.