The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was founded on July 29th, 1957. On the occasion of this 50th anniversary IPPNW-Germany has created an electronic birthday card to the IAEA that criticizes the agency's role in promoting so-called peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
The e-card can be viewed, personalized, and signed at www.iaea.ippnw.de.
According to its founding statute, the aim of the IAEA is to prevent nuclear weapons proliferation while, at the same time, enlarging the peaceful use of nuclear energy. IPPNW believes that this is a self-contradictory mission. "Whenever energy is produced using uranium, the raw material for nuclear weapons is also produced," said Xanthe Hall of IPPNW-Germany. "Abolishing nuclear weapons therefore also means abandoning nuclear energy."
The current international conflicts with Iran and the DPRK (North Korea) are the most recent examples of the inextricable connection between nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. The e-card calls for phasing out nuclear energy and investing in renewable energy sources and energy efficiency as crucial steps toward meeting the world's energy needs, stopping global warming, and preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.
IPPNW has also criticized the IAEA for underestimating the health consequences of the Chernobyl catastrophe, and for paying too little attention to the health and environmental dangers of civilian uses of nuclear energy.
The international e-card campaign will take place from July 25th to August 5th.
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