Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
The 13th Conference on Facilitating the Entry-into-Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)
During her visit to New York to attend the international conferences held on the occasion of the United Nations General Assembly, Ms. Kamikawa Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan attended the 13th Conference on Facilitating the Entry-into-Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) on September 22, at 10:45 a.m. local time (11:45 p.m., September 22, Japan time) . The summary of the event is as follows.
- Minister Kamikawa delivered a statement in the conference. The Minister stated that Japan attached great importance to the early entry into force of the CTBT as a realistic and practical nuclear disarmament measure, emphasized that bringing the CTBT into force is our urgent priority while the relevance of the CTBT has never been greater and called for cooperation of the international community to advance the treaty.
- In addition to United Nations Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Nakamitsu Izumi and Executive Secretary of the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) of the Preparatory Commission for the CTBTO Robert Floyd, representatives of governments from about 85 countries including foreign ministers such as Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Italian Republic Antonio Tajani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Panama Janaina Tewaney, attended the meeting and delivered statements.
- Furthermore, the final declaration was adopted as the consensus of the participating countries. The declaration calls for the early signature and ratification of the CTBT by the States that have not yet signed or ratified the treaty, in particular by the remaining States listed in Annex 2, calls for the maintenance of the moratoria on nuclear weapons test explosions, confirms support for the build-up of the verification regime, and condemns nuclear tests by North Korea.
The CTBT, which bans nuclear explosive tests in all places, stipulates that if the treaty has not entered into force three years after it is opened for signature, a conference to facilitate its entry into force shall be held at the request of a majority of those states that have already ratified (Article XIV). Under this provision, the Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force has been held every other year since 1999.
The CTBT was opened for signature in September 1996, but has not yet entered into force because it requires ratification by all 44 States listed in Annex2 to the treaty to enter into force. Of the countries that are listed in Annex 2 to the treaty, the U.S., China, Egypt, Israel, and Iran have signed but not ratified it. India, Pakistan, and North Korea have not signed and ratified. Currently, there are 187 signatories and 178 ratifying states.
- (Attachment 1) Ministerial Statement of the Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the CTBT in 2023 (Japanese (PDF)
/ English (PDF)) - (Attachment 2) Final Declaration (Japanese Summary (PDF) / English (PDF))