Fourth Anniversary of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Marked

COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR TEST BAN TREATY -- FOUR YEARS OLD
Vienna, Austria

25 September 2000

1. "Significant international events, such as the 2000
Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference (New York, 24 April to 19
May 2000), and the United Nations Millennium Summit (New York, 6 to 8
September 2000) have both added momentum to the signature and
ratification processes of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
(CTBT)", remarked Wolfgang Hoffmann, Executive Secretary for the
Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Organization (CTBTO Preparatory Commission), on the occasion of the
CTBT's fourth anniversary. "An additional 11 States have ratified the
Treaty so far this year, while five more States have joined the list
of Signatories. This clearly indicates the high level of political
support that the CTBT is receiving, with the number of signatures
currently standing at 160 and ratifications at 63. Continued
international support will facilitate the fulfillment of the Treaty's
goal of universal membership and early entry into force."

2. Over the last year, the CTBTO Preparatory Commission has made good
progress on the establishment of the Treaty's global verification
regime (1), and work on the International Monitoring System (IMS)
network is well under way. This network is designed to register
vibrations underground, in the seas and in the air as well as to
detect radioactive material released into the atmosphere. Many
stations are now fully operational. The first seismological stations
that were built in their entirety by the Commission began transmitting
data to the International Data Centre (IDC) in Vienna in April 2000.
The IDC is currently receiving data from 109 IMS stations around the
globe.

3. Three primary seismological stations were certified on 28 July
2000: PS09 (Yellowknife, Canada), PS27 (Hamar, Norway), and PS47
(Mina, Nevada, United States). By the end of 2000, it is anticipated
that an additional 15 stations will have been certified. To date, 280
legal arrangements have been undertaken involving work at the sites of
stations in over 60 States. Both the seismological and hydroacoustic
networks are now about 30 percent operational, and some 10 percent of
the infrasound and radionuclide networks are now functioning.

4. Over 40 States are currently able to access data and products from
the IDCData quality/and availability will further improve as more IMS
stations are established, existing stations upgraded and the satellite
communication system for data transmission extended.

5. The Global Communications Infrastructure (GCI) is now functional.
Global satellite coverage has been made possible through the
installation of five GCI hubs and a frame relay infrastructure to link
these hubs to the IDC in Vienna.

6. Preparatory activities for on-site inspections have focused on the
drafting of an operational manual and the procurement of basic
equipment for testing and training purposes.

7. A third International Cooperation Workshop took place in Beijing in
June 2000 for the States of Southeast Asia, the Far East and the
Pacific region. A fourth Workshop is scheduled to take place in Lima
in November 2000 for the States of the Latin American and Caribbean
Region. These workshops aim, inter alia, to highlight the significance
of the CTBT for global peace and security, and to promote signature
and ratification. They also explore the possible uses of the
verification technologies, IMS data and IDC products, for scientific
and civil purposes, and examine the potential for regional or
international cooperation in collecting, analyzing and using these
data.

8. The payment of assessed contributions is an important barometer to
gauge the commitment and support of the States Signatories to the
Organization's work. Almost 96 percent of the contributions to the
1999 budget were paid and, to date, some 92 percent of the
contributions for 2000 have been received.

9. As of 19 September, the Provisional Technical Secretariat of the
CTBTO Preparatory Commission had a total of 242 staff members from 70
States Signatories.

The 63 States that have deposited their instruments of ratification of
the CTBT are: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh,
Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Czech
Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Grenada, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan,
Jordan, Kiribati, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Maldives, Mali,
Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco,
Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal,
Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal,
Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Tajikistan, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey,
Turkmenistan, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
and Uzbekistan.

Thirty of the 44 States listed in the Treaty, whose ratification is
necessary for the Treaty to enter into force, have deposited
ratification instruments.

(1) The CTBT's verification regime includes the International
Monitoring System (IMS) of 321 seismological, hydroacoustic,
infrasound and radionuclide stations, supported by 16 radionuclide
laboratories; the International Data Centre (IDC), where data from IMS
facilities are collected, processed, analyzed, and made available to
member States; and on-site inspections (OSI), a final verification
measure, which would take place only under the stringent requirements
set out in the Treaty.