For Immediate Release: October 24, 2012
Contacts: Daryl G. Kimball, Executive Director, 202-463-8270, ext. 107; Tom Z. Collina, Research Director, 202-463-8270, ext. 104;
(Washington, D.C.) The Arms Control Association, in association with the UK Government and the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Nonproliferation, organized a day-long conference on February 17, 2012 in Vienna, Austria, to mark the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). This conference report details the value of the CTBT and explores pathways to its entry into force.
The 48-page report includes presentations by leading CTBT experts such as Dr. Lassina Zerbo, who on Oct. 23 was elected as the next Executive Secretary of the CTBT Organization, based in Vienna, as well as Amb. Tibor Toth, the current Executive Secretary of the CTBTO. Other speakers include: Robert Wood, the United States’ Acting Permanent Representative to the CTBTO; Ambassador I Gusti Puja, Permanent Representative of Indonesia to the International Organizations in Vienna; Ambassador Nils Daag, Permanent Representative of Sweden to the International Organizations in Vienna; Ambassador Michael Weston, former U.K. Representative to the Conference on Disarmament; Pramit Pal Chaudhuri of The Hindustan Times; and others.
The CTBT has already helped bring an end to nuclear testing and reduced nuclear arms competition. Before the treaty was opened for signature in Sept. 1996, over 2,000 nuclear tests had been conducted worldwide. Since then, only three countries have tested, and since 1998 only one country--North Korea--has tested. But until the CTBT enters into force, the door to renewed nuclear testing remains open. To close the door on testing, eight key states must still ratify the treaty: the United States, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, Egypt, Iran and North Korea.
With the CTBT in force, the established nuclear-weapon states would not be able to proof-test new nuclear warhead designs, and emerging nuclear states would encounter greater obstacles in fielding a reliable arsenal. The CTBT strengthens global capabilities to detect and deter testing and would reduce nuclear dangers.
To download a copy of the report, please click here.
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The Arms Control Association (ACA) is an independent, membership-based organization dedicated to providing information and practical policy solutions to address the dangers posed by the world's most dangerous weapons. ACA publishes the monthly journal, Arms Control Today.