South Africa is regarded as the poster child for nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and the peaceful use of nuclear energy. This report sketches the country’s historical and contemporary nuclear context. Post-apartheid South Africa set out to build on the non-proliferation and disarmament credentials it accumulated once it had ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and signed a Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency in 1991. This signalled the country’s intention to apply the peaceful use of nuclear energy to achieve its development needs. Illustrating its commitment to nuclear disarmament, the peaceful use of nuclear energy and nuclear non-proliferation, South Africa joined numerous multilateral nuclear regimes and organisations and signed various international agreements. These normative commitments at the international level were domesticated into South African law and policies, particularly during the Mandela and Mbeki presidencies. Besides formulating and adopting new policies and legislation, South Africa also established new nuclear governance entities, all of which are discussed in this report.
