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How did the Atoms for Peace program lead to the creation of the International Atomic Energy Agency?

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U.S. hydrogen bomb test in the Marshall Islands — nuclear weapon A test of a U.S. thermonuclear weapon (hydrogen bomb) at Enewetak atoll in the Marshall Islands, November 1, 1952.

The Atoms for Peace program originated from a speech delivered by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the United Nations on December 8, 1953. In this address, Eisenhower proposed that nations should pool their atomic information and materials under the oversight of an international agency to ensure that nuclear technology would be dedicated to peaceful purposes rather than military destruction.12

This call for an international organization to monitor the diffusion of nuclear resources and technology directly inspired the formation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Following Eisenhower’s proposal, representatives from more than 80 countries gathered to establish the agency in October 1956, with its statute officially entering into force on July 29, 1957. The IAEA was created as an autonomous intergovernmental organization tasked with promoting the peaceful use of atomic energy while ensuring that its assistance is not diverted for military ends.132