Monitoring/ Testing

The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) bans all nuclear explosions in all environments, for military or civilian purposes. more...

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Status

The Treaty was opened for signature in New York on 24 September 1996, when it was signed by 71 States, including five of the eight then nuclear-capable states. The CTBT has now been signed by 177 states and ratified by 137. India and Pakistan, though not nuclear weapons states as defined by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), did not sign; neither did the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). India and Pakistan conducted back-to-back nuclear tests in 1998, while North Korea withdrew from the NPT in 2003 and tested a nuclear device in 2006. Also 15 other states have yet to sign on too.

Additionally, to enter into force, the treaty has to be ratified by the 44 Annex 2 states, which is unlikely to happen in the near future. As noted, (as of April 2006) the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, India and Pakistan have neither signed nor ratified the CTBT, and the People's Republic of China, Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Israel and the United States have not ratified it. The United States, the PRC, India, Pakistan, Israel, and the DPRK are the only nuclear-weapons states (NWS) which have not ratified the Treaty yet.

Obligations

(Article I):

Each State Party undertakes not to carry out any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion, and to prohibit and prevent any such nuclear explosion at any place under its jurisdiction or control.; Each State Party undertakes, furthermore, to refrain from causing, encouraging, or in any way participating in the carrying out of any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion.;

History

Arms control advocates had campaigned for the adoption of a treaty banning all nuclear explosions since the early 1950s, when public concern was aroused as a result of radioactive fall-out from atmospheric nuclear tests and the escalating arms race. Over 50 nuclear explosions were registered between 16 July 1945, when the first nuclear explosive test was conducted by the United States at Alamogordo, New Mexico, and 31 December 1953. Prime Minister Nehru of India voiced the heightened international concern in 1954, when he proposed the elimination of all nuclear test explosions worldwide. However, within the context of the Cold War, skepticism in the capability to verify compliance with a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty posed a major obstacle to any agreement. On 13 October 1999 the United States Senate rejected ratification of the CTBT.

Read more at Wikipedia.org