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Peri Lynne Johnson

  • 10/05/2018
  • 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM
  • Capital City Club

Registration


Registration closes at 10am on Tuesday, October 2.

ACIR is honored to host Ms. Peri Lynne Johnson, Legal Advisor and Director of the IAEA Office of Legal Affairs, who will speak on the topic, "Nuclear Safeguards and Nuclear Security: Keeping the Genie in the Bottle."

Headquartered in Vienna, Austria and established in 1957, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. Though established independently of the United Nations through its own international treaty, the IAEA reports to both the General Assembly and the Security Council.

The IAEA is described as having three main missions: promoting the peaceful uses of nuclear energy by its member states, implementing safeguards to verify that nuclear energy is not used for military purposes, and promoting high standards for nuclear safety.

The Chernobyl disaster was a major wake-up call for the international community. With the end of the Cold War, the break-up of the Soviet Union, and the breakdown in nuclear safeguards, the disposition of fissile materials added yet another dimension to concerns about nuclear safety and security, as has the Fukushima nuclear disaster and nuclear developments in Iran and North Korea. Also of keen concern have been attempts by terrorist organizations to acquire nuclear weapons. Come listen to Peri Lynne Johnson, IAEA Legal Advisor, address the complexities IAEA confronts and its major concerns as it attempts to ensure and enhance nuclear safety and security.

Ms. Johnson joined the Office of Legal Affairs of the IAEA in January 2011. Previously, Ms. Johnson served as the Director of the Legal Support Office, Bureau of Management, of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In this capacity, Ms. Johnson provided legal advice to the UNDP Administrator, Associate Administrator, Senior Managers at headquarters and Resident Representatives in field offices around the globe, as well as to the UNDP-Affiliated Funds of the Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM now UN Women) and the UN Volunteers Programme (UNV).

Ms. Johnson earned her B.A. in French Literature (with a focus in Government and International Relations), with distinction in all subjects, from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, USA in 1988, and her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, in 1991.