Statement of Non-Governmental Organisations to the Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban

Treaty (CTBT), 3 to 5 September 2003, in Vienna

Mr Chairperson, Distinguished Delegates, and Colleagues,

I am speaking to you as a physician who feels responsible for health and life, and in the name of 97 Non-Governmental organizations.
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is an integral part of our global efforts to achieve international security for all, free from the threat of weapons of mass destruction. All states should recognise that action on the CTBT is all the more important in light of the rising hostilities across the globe.

The CTBT was brought about largely through the hard work and determination of NGOs and millions of ordinary people around the world. In all these years, the NGO community has never faltered in its advocacy for a test-ban treaty. People throughout the world understood that ending nuclear testing was essential for three powerful reasons: to halt the spiralling arms race; to obstruct the emergence of new nuclear powers; and to prevent further devastation of human health and the global environment, already contaminated from decades of atmospheric and underground explosions.

Since the middle of the 20th century, more than 2,000 nuclear tests have been conducted throughout the world, with direct, serious, and long-term adverse health and environmental effects. It is estimated that atmospheric testing directly produced 430,000 fatal human cancers by the year 2000. Eventually, that total will be 2.4 million. If the horizontal and vertical proliferation of nuclear weapons leads to new rounds of testing, , deleterious impacts on public health and social well-being can only increase.

It is crucial to the stability and future of the non-proliferation regime in its entirety that the CTBT enters into force, as was unanimously confirmed by all NPT States Parties at the 2000 Review Conference. Among the 13 practical steps for systematic and progressive nuclear disarmament identified in the Final Document of that Conference, the very first two are devoted to the CTBT and nuclear testing. These steps stresssed the importance and urgency of signatures and ratifications, without delay and without conditions. Furthermore, the document called for maintaining the moratorium on nuclear-weapon test explosions pending entry into force of the Treaty.

A ban on testing is an essential step towards nuclear disarmament because it helps to block dangerous nuclear competition and new nuclear threats from emerging. However, it must be recognised that technological advances in nuclear weapons research and development mean that a ban on nuclear test explosions by itself cannot prevent qualitative improvements of nuclear arsenals. Efforts to improve nuclear arsenals and to make nuclear weapons more useable in warfare will jeopardise the test-ban and non-proliferation regimes. We call on all states possessing nuclear weapons to halt all qualitative improvements in their nuclear armaments, whether or not these improvements require test explosions.

In this context, we are alarmed by recent disclosures of proposals by the present US administration for the research and development of a new generation of earth-penetrating nuclear warheds and new types of „low yield“ warheads, as well as proposals to reduce the time necessary to resume underground nuclear testing.

We recognise that any new step in the field of security generally often involves some risk, but the CTBT has been carefully designed so that its benefits greatly outweigh any possible risks. The CTBT establishes a far-reaching global monitoring, verification, and compliance system. A series of independent studies, most recently by the US National Academy of Sciences in 2002, have all concluded that the system is capable of detecting nuclear explosions in all environments with a high degree of confidence, thereby deterring potential treaty violators. We commend the Preparatory Commission for the CTBT Organisation and the Provisional Technical Secretariat for their work in establishing the International Monitoring System and International Data Centre, which are already proving their capabilities beyond expectations. We support efforts to promote the civil and scientific applications of the CTBT verification technology as a means of recouping costs and expanding the range of CTBT stakeholders.

We oppose attempts by some states to delay full construction of the CTBT's verification system. Such behaviour harms efforts to increase the number of parties to the Treaty and prevents the system from demonstrating its full technical capabilities, thereby giving comfort to those who question the Treaty's verifiability. We deplore efforts by a small number of states to obstruct finalisation of the on-site inspection arrangements for the Treaty by not paying their dues, not participating in discussions on the on-site-inspection manual, or by adopting unreasonable positions in those negotiations. We call on all signatories to provide the political, financial and technical support necessary for the earliest implementation of all elements of the CTBT verification system.

We believe that global security would be enhanced if all states with nuclear test sites engaged in confidence-building processes, including transparency measures at those sites, during the interim period prior to their complete elimination. In this regard, we note with interest the Russian proposal for mutual confidence-building measures with the United States following the CTBT's entry into force. We applaud Ambassador Hoffman's visit to the Novaya Zemlya test site earlier this year and encourage the United States and Russia, as well as India, Pakistan, and China to pursue initiatives to increase transparency at their test sites to dispel concerns about ongoing activities at those sites, including subcritical tests.

Despite overwhelming international support for the CTBT, 12 key states have not yet signed and/or ratified .The Bush administration has declared that it is not even seeking Senate approval for ratification. Washington has also announced that it will not pay its share of, nor participate in, non-IMS activities of the Preparatory Commission of the CTBT Organisation , including preparations for on-site inspections. Although the US remains a signatory, it was the only country to oppose the retention of the CTBT on the agenda of the UN General Assembly in November 2001.

Most importantly, this conference must train its attention and its future efforts on the signatures and ratification by those states that are required by the stipulations of Article XIV.The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, India, and Pakistan must sign and ratify the CTBT. China, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Indonesia,Iran, Israel, the United States, and Viet Nam must now ratify, without further procrastination. The longer these states wait to join the Treaty, the greater the chance that some nation may begin testing and set off a dangerous international action-reaction cycle of military and nuclear confrontation.

It is the fundamental responsibility of this meeting to send a strong message to the remaining 12 CTBT hold-out states and urge their prompt signature and ratification without conditions or reservations. States Parties must also endorse the continuation of the current global nuclear test explosion moratorium until such time as the CTBT enters into force.

NGOs are ready to make greater contributions to the efforts for entry into force. In particular, they will be able to do so if the interaction between governments, parliaments, NGOs and the media is intensified. Governments, for instance, should report to their parliaments on activities to implement the decisions of earlier Article XIV Conferences and their plans for future activities. The matter of entry into force should be discussed at regional intergovernmental meetings and parliamentary bodies linked to such organisations. The Provisional Technical Secretariat should be asked to assist the intersessional coordinator in compiling reports from States Parties on their initiatives, and to make them available to all Parties on a regular basis. NGOs, in the meanwhile, will increase their own efforts at monitoring and reporting these initiatives to the public and to the media. We will continue our advocacy efforts aimed at the CTBT hold-out states. Through a strengthened network of NGOs, governments, international bodies and the media, we can promote further initiatives, intensify public discussion, and exert broad pressure on the hold-out states .

No single government or individual leader should be allowed to stand in the way of the historic opportunity to permanently end the scourge of nuclear testing, an indispensable step towards eliminating nuclear weapon threats and preventing nuclear war.

This presentation was prepared and supported by NGOs who have worked for a comprehensive test-ban treaty for many years, in many countries, and in many ways. The list of the 97 supporting NGOs is attached to the extended version of this statement, which is distributed to delegations. On behalf of the world´s citizens, we urge you to do all that is within your power to ensure the entry into force of the CTBT and the full implementation of all elements of this historic

Treaty. Thank you.

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The following Non-governmental Organizations have endorsed the Joint Statement of NGOs

AAPSO (Afro-Asian Peoples Solidarity Organisation)
The Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy
Albanian Ecological Club -
International Friends of Nature Amandamaj ry, Finland
Amici della Terra (Friends of the Earth, Italy)
Arbeitsgemeinschaft Gerecht Wirtschaften, Austria
Arms Control Association,     USA Artists for Peace,     Sweden Association Médicale pour la Prévention de la Guerre Nucléaire,
Belgium (section of IPPNW) Association of Physicians and Medical Workers for Social Responsibility,     Kenya Associazone Italiana Medicina per la Prevenzione della Guerra Nucleare (affiliate of IPPNW)     The Atomic Mirror,     British Office Australian Education Union     Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND),
United Kingdom Center for Antiwar Action,     Belgrade, Serbia Center for Russian Environmental Policy,     Moscow Disarmament and Security Centre,
Christchurch, New Zealand     Dutch Medical Association for Peace Research (NVMP) (affiliate of IPPNW)
East Midlands CND Region, United Kingdom
„Ecotopia“ magazine, Greece
European Union of Women
Friedens- und Begegnungsstätte, Mutlangen, Germany
German Peace Society - United War Resisters
Gobal Network against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space
Global Resource Action Centre for the Environment (GRACE),     USA Greenpeace International Grandmothers for Peace,     Finland Institute for Law and Peace (INLAP), London International Club for Peace     Research International Federation of Social Workers     International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR)
International Human Rights Observer (IHRO)     International Institute for Peace, Vienna, Austria     International Network of Engineers and Scientists against Proliferation (INESAP), Darmstadt, Germany     International Peace Bureau     International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW)    
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW),     Dem.Republic Congo International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW),
Germany International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW),     Poland International Progress Organisation Japan Congress against A-and H-Bombs Latin American Circle for International Studies (LACIS),     Mexiko City Lawyers` Committee on Nuclear Policy,     USA Liaison Committee for Peace and Security,
Denmark Littleborough Peace Group,     Lancashire, England Malaysian Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War Mama Terra / For Mother Earth,    
Romania Medical Association for Prevention of War,     Australia MEDACT (Medical Action for Global Security),
United Kingdom (affiliate of IPPNW) For Mother Earth     International National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ)     NGO Committee on Disarmament, Geneva Norske Leger mot Atomwapen, Norway (affiliate of IPPNW)     Nuclear Age Peace Foundation Organizacion de Medicos contra violencia, Costa Rica (affiliate of IPPNW)
Oesterreichische Mediziner gegen Gewalt und Atomgefahren (OMEGA) (Austrian affiliate of IPPNW)
Pacific Campaign for Disarmament and Security (PCDS)
Pax Christi International Pax Christi USA Peace Council     Aotearoa New Zealand Peace Depot Japan The Peace Foundation Aotearoa / New Zealand Peace Moves Coalition,     Penzance, United Kingdom Peacequest International People with Disabilities Uganda     Physicians for Gobal Survival, Canada (affiliate of IPPNW)
Physicians for Social Responsibility, USA     Physicians for Social Responsibility (IPPNW),     Switzerland Project on European Nuclear Non-Proliferation Project
Plowshare Calgary, Canada SERO,     The Swedish Renewable Energy Association     Servas     International Soka Gakkai International    
Stop-Essais / Abolitions des Armes Nucleaire, France     Swedish Fellowship of Reconciliation     Swedish Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
Trade Union Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Ireland     Universal Esperanto Association Verification Research,     Training and Information Centre (VERTIC), London West Midlands Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament,     United Kingdom Western States Legal Foundation , USA Woking CND, Surrey, United Kingdom Women against Nuclear Power,     Finland Woman and Children Development Organisation,     Lahore, Pakistan Women for Peace,     Finland Womens Federation for World Peace, Austrian Section Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)     Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Aotearoa / New Zealand Section
Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF),     Australian Section Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF),
Bolivian Section Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF),     Costa Rica Section Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Dutch Section
Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), French Section     Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), German Section Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Indian Section     Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Italian Section
Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Norwegian Section     Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Russian Section Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), United States Section
World Union of Catholic Womens Organisations

The following endorsements were received shortly after presentation of the NGO statement to the Conference:

Action for UN Renewal, United Kingdom
Arkadas (Friend), Turkey
The Arms Reduction Coalition (ARC), United Kingdom
Buerger gegen Atomreaktor Garching (Citizens against Nuclear Reactor, Garching , Germany ) Center for Encounter and Active Non-Violence, Bad Ischl, Austria The Center for Women, the Earth, the Divine Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment (CORE), United Kingdom Fellowship of Reconciliation, England Global Mothers - Women in Action for Environment and Peace Labour Action for Peace, United Kingdom London Region CND Merseyside Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Liverpool, United Kingdom National Consultative Committee for Disarmament, New Zealand National Foundation for Youth Initiative, Ghana New Zealand Federation of Business and Professional Women Plattform gegen Atomgefahr (Platform against Nuclear Danger), Linz, Austria Plattform gegen Atomgefahren (PLAGE, Platform against Nuclear Dangers), Salzburg, Austria Reseau „Sortir du nucléaire“, France Wales Alliance against Nuclear Weapons Wallasey CND, Wirral, United Kingdom Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Sweden Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), United Kingdom Section World Disarmament Campaign UK (WDC)

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...We reiterated that the cessation of all nuclear weapon test explosions and all other nuclear explosions, by constraining the development and qualitative improvement of nuclear weapons and ending the development of advanced new types of nuclear weapons, constitutes an effective measure of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in all its aspects and thus a meaningful step in the realization of a systematic process to achieve nuclear disarmament. ..

...We reaffirmed the importance of the Treaty and its entry into force for the practical steps for the systematic and progressive efforts towards nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation, which were agreed to by the participating states at international forums dealing with nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation. ...

...We call upon all States that have not yet done so to sign and ratify the Treaty without delay, in particular those 12 whose ratification is needed for its entry into force. We further call upon all States to continue a moratorium on nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions. Voluntary adherence to such a moratorium is of the highest importance, but does not have the same effect as entry into force of the Treaty. ... We reaffirm our commitment to the Treaty`s basic obligations and call on all states to refrain from acts which would defeat the object and purpose of the Treaty pending its entry into force....

...We consider it essential to maintain momentum in building the verification regime, which should be capable of meeting the verification requirements of the Treaty at its entry into force. ... We will continue

to provide the support required to enable the Preparatory Commission for the CTBT Organization to complete its tasks in the most efficient and cost-effective way ...

adopted by the Conference

... Support and ecourage bilateral, regional and multilateral initiatives by interested countries and the Preparatory Commission for the CTBT Organization to promote the entry into force of the Treaty ...

... Recommend that ratifying States will consider establishing a trust fund, financed through voluntary contributions, to support an outreach programme for promoting the Treaty ...

...Encourage the organization of regional seminars in conjunction with other regional meetings in order to increase the awareness of the important role that the Treaty plays ..

... Call upon the Preparatory Commission for the CTBT Organization to continue promoting understanding of the Treaty and demonstrate the benefits of the civil and scientific applications of the verification technologies, inter alia in such areas as environment and earth sciences and technology ..

... Request the Provisional Technical Secretariat to act as a "focal point" where information about activities undertaken by ratifiers and signatories is collected in order to assist in promoting the entry into force of the Treaty ...

... Encourage cooperation with non-governmental organizations and otherelements of civil society to raise awareness of and support for the Treaty and its objectives as well as the need for its early entry into force .