U.S. launches fund drive for peaceful nuclear uses

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States on Monday announced a drive to raise $100 million over the next five years to help the International Atomic Energy Agency broaden access to peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

The proposal, unveiled before a speech by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to a major U.N. nuclear non-proliferation conference, is part of the Obama administration's campaign to strengthen international controls over nuclear weapons while expanding peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

A State Department statement said the new initiative would raise money to back IAEA programs to help developing countries use nuclear technology to address issues ranging from civilian power to medical treatments.

"The United States has pledged $50 million to this effort and will work with others to meet the $100 million target," in time for the next Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) conference in 2015, the statement said.

"The United States is taking this step in recognition of the growing international interest in power and non-power uses of nuclear energy and the NPT's promise of peaceful nuclear sharing with nations that abide by their nuclear non-proliferation commitments," the statement said.

Clinton was due to speak later at the opening session of the current NPT conference at the United Nations, which has thrown a spotlight on international concern over nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the conference on Monday and said all countries had the right to develop peaceful nuclear programs -- but did not directly address Western fears that his country's nuclear program is aimed at building weapons.

Clinton was also due to announce that the United States would move to ratify proposed nuclear-weapons free zones in Africa and the South Pacific, which include a ban on nuclear tests in those regions.

The United States has also ratified a nuclear-weapons free zone in Latin America and the Caribbean, and is studying signing up to similar pacts in Southeast Asia and Central Asia, the State Department statement said.

(Reporting by Andrew Quinn; Editing by Eric Walsh)