Mr. President,
 
It is a great honour to participate in this second Conference convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to facilitate the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to which my Government attaches the greatest importance. I am also pleased to be here on this occasion under the Chairmanship of Mexico, a country Spain is linked to through many ties of friendship and cooperation.

The CTBT represents a relevant effort of the international community to contribute effectively to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, thus increasing international peace and security. The relevance of the Treaty has increased even more now after the terrible terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, and after the bioterrorist attack that the USA is suffering. I want to express here the full support and solidarity of the Spanish people and Government. The international community as a whole has the duty to contribute to prevent these terrorist attacks. In this endeavor, the CTBT can play an important role. It prevents the proliferation of nuclear weapons thus contributing to the aim of achieving one day the disappearance of this type of weapons.

My country fully adheres to the intervention of Belgium on behalf of the Presidency of the European Union reasserting the importance of this Treaty as a tool for our common efforts to ensure the banning and implementation of all nuclear tests. This is an essential element of a global policy on Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Control of nuclear weapons.

It will be difficult to achieve such ambitious objectives without the cooperation of all States, or without their contribution to all programmes that the Preparatory Commission has already launched, particularly the system of verification. For this reason, my Government believes in the universal value of the CTBT. Therefore I call upon all countries that have not signed to it do so without further delay. In particular, I want to address those countries whose ratification of this Treaty is essential for its entry into force.

In this regard, I am pleased to reiterate that Spain signed the Treaty on 27 September 1996 and was one of the first countries to ratify it on 31 August 1998.  Since then, Spanish participation in the framework of the Preparatory Commission of the Treaty has been particularly active, contributing both in the implementation of the International Monitoring System and the ongoing programmes, as well as the activities and seminars carried out to promote the entry into force of the Treaty.

I am indeed pleased to underline the rapid and effective progress that the Provisional Technical Secretariat is making in the monitoring system facilities foreseen in the Treaty. This could not have been possible without the cooperation of the signatory States.  To this effect, Spain is among those countries who have signed an Agreement of Activities on 19 September 2000 with the Provisional Technical Secretariat.  We believe that this kind of agreements stands as the most efficient instrument to guarantee the participation in the Monitoring System in conditions of transparency and legal security. This is why we remain confident that other Party States would also conclude their respective Agreements with the Secretariat.

Please allow me to inform you that very soon the Seismology Station in Sonseca, which is included in the Primary International Monitoring System, will be fully operative. This is going to be an important milestone in my country’s participation in the Treaty, in accordance with the responsibilities taken upon with the ratification of the Treaty’. I should point out that this Station is already in operation and was the first one in the International Monitoring System to establish a continuous transmission to the International Data Centre in Vienna. Our early integration in the programmes of the Preparatory Commission is no doubt something that gives my Government great satisfaction.

 I would also like to express the support of my Government to the Provisional Technical Secretariat and to the work that it has done in accordance with the Treaty dispositions. I want to  mention, particularly, the efforts and the important role of its Executive Secretary, Ambassador Hoffman.

Mr. President,

 At the beginning of my intervention I referred to the importance of the principles of Non-Proliferation of nuclear weapons and of International Cooperation set out in this Treaty. It is also convenient to remember especially the valuable scientific applications of the Monitoring System, since its 321 stations offer an important data base and resources for the study of the environment, prevention of natural catastrophes and other applications of general interest.

 To conclude, allow me, Mr. President, to call once more upon the States that are not yet part of the Treaty, particularly those whose ratification is essential for its entry into force and to urge them to ratify it. We are convinced that the entry into force of the CTBT will be extremely beneficial for the international security, since the responsibilities assumed in the Treaty can be verified by the System that is developing now so satisfactorily.

 The entry into force  of such a valuable international instrument is a political priority for my country. The Government of Spain will spare no effort to reach the objective of this Conference.

 Thank you Mr. President.
 

Sources

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