In 1991, the government of the United States said it had unearthed details of the alleged construction of a

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat fr ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughou ...

'' accused the country of developing nuclear weapons with the help of the Chinese government. The Algerian government admitted it was building a reactor, but denied any secrecy or military purpose. Surveillance from U.S. satellites also suggested that the reactor would not be used for military purposes. China had secretly made an agreement in 1983 to assist Algeria in developing a

. In November 1991, succumbing to international pressure, Algeria placed the reactor under

IAEA safeguards International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguards are a system of inspection and verification of the peaceful uses of nuclear materials as part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), supervised by the International Atomic Energy Agency. ...

. Algeria signed the

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation ...

in January 1995, and ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention In August 2001, Algeria acceded to the

Biological Weapons Convention The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), or Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), is a disarmament treaty that effectively bans biological and toxin weapons by prohibiting their development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpil ...

. Algeria signed the

Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons with the ultimate goal being their total elimination. It ...

on 20 September 2017, but has not ratified it .

Notes and references

References

* Ref. * http://www.atomicarchive.com/Almanac/Testing.shtml {{DEFAULTSORT:Algeria And Weapons Of Mass Destruction Politics of Algeria Weapons of mass destruction by country