It is the first and only legally binding international treaty to directly address the safety of handling nuclear waste and spent fuel globally.

• Came under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 1997, it entered into force on June 18, 2001.

Note

• The Convention applies to spent fuel resulting from the operation of civilian nuclear reactors and to radioactive waste resulting from civilian applications.
• It also applies to spent fuel and radioactive waste from military or defence programmes if such materials are transferred permanently to and managed within exclusively civilian programmes, or when declared as spent fuel or radioactive waste for the Convention by the Contracting Party concerned. 
• It covers planned and controlled releases into the environment of liquid or gaseous radioactive materials from regulated nuclear facilities.

Source: The Hindu