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In 1991, the government of the United States said it had unearthed details of the alleged construction of a nuclear reactor in Algeria. [1] The Washington Times accused the country of developing nuclear weapons with the help of the Chinese government. [1] The Algerian government admitted it was building a reactor, but denied any secrecy or military purpose. [1] Surveillance from U.S. satellites also suggested that the reactor would not be used for military purposes. [1] China had secretly made an agreement in 1983 to assist Algeria in developing a nuclear reactor. [1]

In November 1991, succumbing to international pressure, Algeria placed the reactor under IAEA safeguards. [1] Algeria signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in January 1995, and ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention [2] In August 2001, Algeria acceded to the Biological Weapons Convention. [3] Algeria signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons on 20 September 2017, but has not ratified it as of August 2022. [4]

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b c d e f "The Nuclear Vault: The Algerian Nuclear Problem". Gwu.edu. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
  2. ^ "Member States of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons". OPCW. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
  3. ^ "BWC (Algeria)". unhq-appspub-01.un.org. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  4. ^ "UNODA Treaties". treaties.unoda.org.

References