nuclear proliferation nyu
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Emma Zhang New York University
Committee: IAEA Country: Federal Republic of Germany
Topic A: Nuclear Proliferation
Established in 1957 in response to the expectations and fears following the discovery of
nuclear energy, the International Atomic Energy Association is an intergovernmental
organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The IAEA has set policy
and standards for the international surveillance of domestic nuclear programs, nuclear
disarmament and nuclear technology development. Following the quick end of the war in the
Pacific due to decimation of Nagasaki and Hiroshima by two atomic bombs developed in the
United States, the international community as well as the United Nations itself looks to the
International Atomic Energy Association to spearhead efforts in regards to nuclear proliferation.
It is also imperative that the IAEA set the correct precedence on nuclear proliferation in which
the international community will stand for decades to come, especially as the World enters the
atomic age. This body, however, faces an interesting challenge, as the end of World War II led to
the rise of two global superpowers, the United States of America and the United Soviet Socialist
Republic, whom are both are currently in possession of nuclear arms. The relevance of a
potential nuclear arms race makes it astronomically important that the international community
does everything that it possibly can to safeguard the interests of the World as a whole.
The Federal Republic of Germany in 1957 finds itself in a fairly unique situation. It has
received blame for the Second World War, which at the moment has left the infrastructure and
economies of Europe in shambles. As a result, the two most polarized players have split
Germany down the center. To the west, Germany sees a public strongly allied with the Western
bloc that is being led by the United States, and to the east, it sees a public that shares sentiments
with the Soviet bloc. Within this framework of time, Germany recognizes that is imperative to
institute an international monitoring regime that incentivizes individual country-level
Emma Zhang New York University
cooperation on nuclear energy. Germany recognizes that the nuclear power that these two nations
possess have the ability to destroy the entire Earth, and at the current moment in time, will
choose neutrality over all in hopes of contributing to a consensus on nuclear proliferation.
Germany expects the body to come to an agreement in three ways. First, it expects to see
the establishment of a framework that both recognizes and clearly defines the different uses of
atomic energy and what level of access is appropriate in order to protect international peace and
prosperity. This framework should also include the decision of whether or not the international
community should remove and effectively destroy all nuclear weapons that the United States and
the United Soviet Socialist Republic already possess, or if it should focus its efforts on curtailing
the possibilities of these two countries attempting to resolve their political conflicts through use
of their nuclear arsenals. Next, Germany expects the body to draft and formulate the
implementation of strict regulations on the movement of these nuclear missiles to make it
incredibly difficult for them to fall into the wrong hands. Germany also hopes that the body will
use these regulations to make acquiring nuclear weapons as arduous and as generally difficult as
possible, as it recognizes that an increase in the number of nuclear arms simply increases the
chances of catastrophic accidents. Finally, Germany hopes that the body will come to a
consensus on effective enforcement mechanisms of such regulations, and hopes that the IAEA
will strongly recommend strict sanctions on any nations found to be in violation of international
regulation. While Germany recognizes that more polarized nations in the body may demand the
right to nuclear power, it believes that neutrality will play the most important role in allowing the
body to effectively deliver potential solutions to the conflicts at hand.