U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon yesterday urged the international community to "seize the current moment" by bringing the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty into force (see GSN, June 15).
The 1996 pact must be signed and ratified by 44 states before it can enter into force. The holdout nations are China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and the United States (see GSN, June 9).
Although the treaty's formulation marked a major achievement in the nonproliferation and disarmament arenas, Ban stated in a press release, "for too long, it has not been brought into force. The price is high.
"There is no doubt that the longer the treaty is delayed, the greater the risks and consequences that nuclear weapons will again be tested. By outlawing all nuclear tests, the CTBT in force would greatly contribute to global efforts to curb the proliferation of nuclear weapons while advancing nuclear disarmament," the release states.
"The recent nuclear test by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has reminded the international community of the urgency of bringing the treaty into force without further delay," Ban said in the statement (see related GSN story, today). "In this regard, I welcome the fact that Security Council resolution 1874, adopted on 12 June 2009, has called upon the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to join the treaty as soon as possible" (see GSN, June 12).
"Let me reiterate my strong appeal that all states that have not yet done so sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty as promptly as possible," he added. "I have publicly advocated the importance of the entry into force of the treaty whenever possible, including in multilateral and bilateral settings. The international community should seize the current moment.
"I particularly commend the [Obama] administration for its pledges to work towards United States ratification of the treaty, which I believe would add greater impetus in this endeavor," he said in the release (U.N. release, June 15).