The head of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) re-emphasized Tuesday that ratification of the global accord banning nuclear explosive tests should be a nonpartisan issue and that continued U.S. funding for the International Monitoring System (IMS) is crucial to keep existing monitoring stations functioning worldwide.
Lassina Zerbo, executive secretary of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, said earlier this month he is optimistic about his organization’s cooperation with a new U.S. administration under President-elect Donald Trump, adding, “a legally binding ban on nuclear testing is not and should not be a partisan issue.” He repeated this perspective Tuesday during a talk at George Washington University.
The United States is one of eight nations that must ratify the treaty for it to enter into force; the others are China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, North Korea, and Pakistan. The U.S. has maintained an informal moratorium on nuclear testing since the early 1990s.
The CTBTO Preparatory Commission is establishing a global verification regime, the IMS, which is over 85 percent complete and consists of hundreds of monitoring stations to detect underground nuclear tests. The United States contributes roughly $32 million per year to the CTBTO budget and hosts the greatest number of IMS facilities.
Zerbo, who was appointed last month to a second four-year term as executive secretary, noted that the United States is the largest contributor of funding to the CTBTO, providing over 20 percent of the organization’s budget, which is roughly $120 million per year.
Zerbo stressed the importance for continued U.S. funding, arguing that if Washington were to withhold the contribution, other countries hosting IMS stations might start to close those facilities. He said representatives of developing countries have argued in conversations with him, “why should we contribute with [an IMS] station to serve only the purpose of one, two, or three countries, and those countries don’t want to ratify the treaty?”