ctbto Spectrum

In the spotlightThe Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT):The Way ForwardPresident Oscar Arias of Costa Rica presents his views on the CTBTQ: Since the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) opened forsignature in 1996, Costa Rica has beenunwavering in its political and technicalsupport. It is coordinating the Conferenceon Facilitating the Entry into Force of theComprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty(Article XIV Conference) until 2009. Italso chaired the Preparatory Commissionfor the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-BanTreaty Organization (CTBTO) in 2007 andthe current Director of the InternationalMonitoring System Division of the CTBTOis a Costa Rican national.of Korea, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran,Israel, Pakistan, and the United States.The probable exception here isIndonesia, which is likely to respond tointensified lobbying efforts from like-mindedStates and ratify in the near future.In the case of India and Pakistan, itis important to work out a creative dealwhereby the lack of trust between the twocountries can be overcome, by proposing thatsignature/ratification be a joint action by bothStates. It is very important for the internationalRegarding the Democratic People’sRepublic of Korea (DPRK), as it dependslargely on China, it is foreseeable that it willfollow suit after the Chinese ratification. Inaddition, the CTBT will be a logical additionto the DPRK denuclearization commitmentsunder the Six-Party Talks, particularlyafter the U.S. ratification is secured.Which brings us now to the United States.Q: How important do youconsider U.S. leadership in theCTBT ratification process to be?In view of this backgroundand of Costa Rica’s commitment toglobal nuclear disarmament, whatsteps do you consider necessaryover the next few years to ensurethe Treaty’s entry into force?A: Costa Rica reiteratedits strong support for theCTBT when it assumed,together with Austria, theco-chairmanship of the fifthArticle XIV Conference heldin Vienna from 17 to 18 September 2007.The Conference’s final declarationcalled for measures to promote the entryinto force of the CTBT. Therefore, renewedefforts must be made to call on outstandingStates to sign and ratify the Treaty.While continuing to take advantageof bilateral occasions as well as multilateralfora for this purpose, I believe that newconcerted efforts and strategies must bedefined for the nine outstanding countries.Let us review the list of States whosesignature/ratification is still outstanding,and who need to ratify the Treaty for itto enter into force (Annex 2 countries):China, the Democratic People’s Republic“It is necessary that theUnited States resumesits leadership role andcommitment to the CTBTas one of the proponentsof the Treaty.”community to be attentive to developments ofthe U.S.-India deal, as it has a direct bearingon the CTBT and the norm against nucleartesting. It is regrettable that the documentsrelating to civil nuclear cooperation with Indiawhich have so far been agreed upon, includingthe safeguards agreement with the IAEA, havefailed to place conditions on India to maintainits test moratorium and have not mentionedthe importance of CTBT signature/ratification.Regarding the outstanding MiddleEast countries, the strategy will not beeffective unless it is integrated into thelarger peace efforts for the region.China has openly indicated thatit is looking towards the United Statesbefore moving to ratification.A: It is necessary that the UnitedStates resumes its leadership role andcommitment to the CTBT as one of theproponents of the Treaty. The upcomingelections provide an excellentopportunity to start new lobbyingefforts within the policy-makingapparatus in the new administration.The two major presidentialcandidates have already declaredthat they would make major changesto the national security and foreignpolicies carried out by the George W.Bush administration over the last sevenyears. Although the United States has notconducted a nuclear test explosion since1992, the Bush administration has notput the Treaty forward for a new vote onratification to the Senate.Barack Obama has been clear inhis support of the bipartisan group ofsenior and former government officialswho have called for moving toward a“world free of nuclear weapons. He haspromised: “As president, I will take thelead to work for a world in which theroles and risks of nuclear weapons canbe reduced and ultimately eliminated.”Furthermore, he has promised to makethe CTBT a priority of his first termpa g e C T B T O S p e c t r u m 1 1 | S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 8