Mr. President,

On behalf of the countries members of the Rio Group that are signatories to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which I have the honor to represent, allow me to congratulate you on your election to preside over the work of this Conference.

Your Presidency has special significance for our region, since it underscores once again the region's peaceful vocation. We are confident that under your guidance our work will be brought to a successful conclusion.

I should also like to thank the Secretary-General of the United Nations for the important observations he made in his inaugural address, and the Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization for the report that he presented.

Mr. President,

The States of Latin America and the Caribbean that are members of the Rio Group attach high priority to global efforts to promote nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, including the total elimination of this type of weapons in order to guarantee international peace and security.

While the world was still in the grip of the Cold War, our region decided to establish a nuclear-weapons-free zone, an initiative that was concretized in 1967 with the opening for signature of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin. America and the Caribbean, the Treaty of Tlatelolco, thereby establishing the first inhabited zone of the planet to be free of this type of weapons.

Mr. President,

Since its establishment, fifteen years ago, the Rio Group, as a permanent mechanism for consultation and political concertation, has promoted dialogue and the adoption of concrete action to preserve peace, strengthen democracy and promote development.

We are convinced that the maintenance of peace and security and the search for concrete solutions to the problems that affect mankind are ongoing commitments that should be assumed by each and every member of the international community.

Mr. President,

The Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty provides an important opportunity for us to reaffirm the commitments that we undertook when we adopted the text and subscribed to the Treaty with the intention of advancing rapidly towards its entry into force.

Five years have gone by since the opening for signature of this important instrument. Since then, the number of countries that have signed and ratified it has increased significantly. However, the current international situation shows the difficulties in the path of its early entry into force, a situation which the countries members of the Rio Group deeply regret, even though we are confident that careful reflection and the correct political will on the part of the Governments of those countries that still have not signed or ratified the Treaty could quickly turn this situation around.

The adoption of the text of this international instrument marked the culmination of a sustained effort by the international community, during which we saw the implementation of important commitments previously, undertaken in the field of non-proliferation and disarmament. It is therefore essential that these commitments remain not only on paper and we urge those States that have not yet done so to sign, ratify and promote their entry into force in the near future.

This commitment re-established the balance in reciprocal relations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, facilitated a new understanding among nuclear weapons and non-nuclear-weapon States and strengthened the non-proliferation regime for these weapons.
 
In this connection, we note with satisfaction the efforts made in other forums to highlight the importance of the Treaty and its 'key role for achieving the goals that we pursue in the area of non-proliferation and disarmament. We welcome in particular the outcome of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, which was held in New York in May 2000. At that Conference, inter alia, concrete measures were decided upon to promote systematic and steady progress towards the
 implementation of Article VI of the agreement; and nuclear-weapon-States assumed the unequivocal commitment to eliminate this type of arsenal. We urgently appeal for the fulfillment of these commitments.

We also wish to underscore the importance for States to maintain a strict moratorium on the conduct of nuclear testing or any, other type of nuclear test while the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty remains pending. We are; pleased that in other important political forums, participating States have reaffirmed their commitment to maintain that: moratorium. We wish to recall nevertheless that these unilateral restrictive measures are no substitute for the ratification of the Treaty. We are convinced that the conduct of nuclear tests seriously undermines the efforts of the international community to promote non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament.

Mr. President,

One of the main objectives of this Conference is the adoption of measures that are compatible with international law in order to expedite the process of ratification of the Treaty and facilitate its early entry into force. We urge States to focus their efforts on this task.

For this reason, and given the importance that we attach to universal accession to the Treaty, the countries members of the Rio Group, in our capacity as members of the Organization of American States, have promoted resolutions 1747 and 1791, on "Support for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty", which were adopted by the General Assembly of the Organization in 2000 and 2001, respectively.

For our part, we are convinced of the need to adopt initiatives aimed at helping States to better understand the Treaty and its benefits, including the scientific benefits to be derived from the application for peaceful purposes of the technologies used in its verification regime. In this connection, we welcomed the regional workshop, which was held in Lima, in November 2000, coordinated by the Provisional Technical Secretariat and the Government of Peru. We hope that this type of activity will continue to be organized in the future.

We are also of the view that, in agreement with the Executive Secretary, the Preparatory Commission should play a more active role in assisting States to promote and complete their ratification process.

With regard to the establishment of the international verification regime provided for in the Treaty, the States members of the Rio Group will continue to provide the greatest possible support to enable the regime to fulfill its verification requirements upon the entry into force of the Treaty, in accordance with Article IV thereof.

Mr. President,

The countries members of the Rio Group take legitimate pride in drawing attention to the recent ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty by three of its members: Costa Rica, Paraguay and Uruguay.

This not only represents a concrete contribution by the region to the Treaty and its process of entry into force but also symbolizes and confirms once more the convergence that exists between full identification of the members of the Rio Group with the principles and objectives of the Treaty.

In conclusion, Mr. President, the Rio Group will continue to work for the signing and ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in order to facilitate its early entry into force as well as strict compliance with its provisions, as stated by the Heads of State and Government at the XV Summit Meeting of Presidents of the Rio Group, which was held last August.

We are convinced that the adoption of measures in the fields of non-proliferation, nuclear disarmament and the elimination of nuclear weapons is' the responsibility of the international community as a whole.

We urgently appeal to all States to immediately ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, in keeping with the commitments that they have given.

At the same time, we urge the international community to continue to observe the principles and obligations of the Treaty, even though its entry into force is still pending.

Thank you very much.
 
 

Source

• http://www.un.org/webcast/ctbt/statements/chileE.htm