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24–28 Aug 2015
IAEA, Vienna
Europe/Vienna timezone

Session

Technical visit to Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization

28 Aug 2015, 10:00
Boardroom B/M1 (IAEA, Vienna)

Boardroom B/M1

IAEA, Vienna

Description

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) bans nuclear explosions by everyone, everywhere: on the Earth's surface, in the atmosphere, underwater and underground. Over 2000 nuclear tests were carried out between 1945 and 1996, when the CTBT opened for signature. The CTBT is almost universal but has yet to become law. 183 countries have signed the Treaty, of which 163 have also ratified it (as of September 2014), including three of the nuclear-weapon States: France, the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom. But 44 specific nuclear technology holder countries must sign and ratify the CTBT before it can enter into force. Of these, eight are still missing: China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and the USA. India, North Korea and Pakistan have yet to sign the CTBT. The last Annex 2 State to ratify the Treaty was Indonesia on 6 February 2012.
Since the Treaty is not yet in force, the organization is called the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). It was founded in 1996, has over 260 staff members from over 70 countries, and is based in Vienna. It is headed by the Executive Secretary, Lassina Zerbo from Burkina Faso. The CTBTO’s main tasks are the promotion of the Treaty and the further development of the verification regime so that it will be operational when the Treaty enters into force.
The Treaty has a unique and comprehensive verification regime to make sure that no nuclear explosion goes undetected.

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