More than 120 delegations met this week at a ministerial meeting to call for global ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), a treaty that several key countries – notably the United States – have yet to ratify, even while calling for others to do so.
Despite the “domestic political obstacles” hindering U.S. ratification of the treaty, the CTBT is in the nation’s national security interest and “it is incumbent upon us to convince those that doubt this fact,” Rose Gottemoeller, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, said Monday at the 20th anniversary CTBT ministerial meeting in Vienna, Austria.
In the meantime, “[a]s we work through our process,” Gottemoeller called on Annex 2 states – the 44 nations that must ratify the CTBT for the treaty to enter into force – to complete their ratification processes.
The Annex 2 states participated in negotiations for the treaty in the 1990s while operating nuclear power or research reactors. The United States is among eight of those nations that have yet to ratify the accord, which would prohibit explosive testing that is key in development of nuclear weapons. The others are China, Egypt, Iran, Israel, India, North Korea, and Pakistan. The latter three nations have also not signed the treaty, and North Korea has conducted four underground nuclear tests in recent years.
The U.S. Senate voted against ratification in 1999. President Barack Obama included CTBT ratification as part of his ambitious nuclear nonproliferation agenda, but never formally submitted the measure to the Senate for ratification.
The U.S. is trying to build support for the treaty “state by state, and sometimes person by person” to educate the public “that our scientists and military experts agree that the CTBT is verifiable,” Gottemoeller said in her remarks. In the meantime, she said, the U.S. delay in ratifying “gives cover” to the other Annex 2 nations that also have yet to do so.
Some analysts argue, for instance, that China is likely to sign off on the treaty after the United States does. India would likely follow China, and Pakistan may consider ratifying once India does. Others argue ratification by the Middle East countries might push the United States Senate to catch up.
Mikhail Ulyanov, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control, said at the CTBT ministerial that the future of the treaty depends on the political will of the eight holdout countries.
“I would like to point out that a special role in this group of eight countries belongs to the United States,” Ulyanov said. “Washington can become the driver of the process to launch the implementation of the treaty.”
“Washington’s stance is becoming a major obstacle to the development of the CTBT into an effective instrument of international law,” he said, noting that Russia ratified the treaty in 2000 and intends to maintain a nuclear testing moratorium “provided the other nuclear states do the same.”
The United States has maintained its own voluntary moratorium on nuclear explosive testing since 1992 and verifies the reliability of its nuclear stockpile through simulations and computer modeling via its Stockpile Stewardship Program instead.
The U.S. remains “steadfast in our support for the Treaty and for the critical work of the Preparatory Commission” for the CTBT Organization, Gottemoeller said at the meeting. “Our dedication to the Treaty is demonstrated through unmatched monetary and technical support and our clear commitment to ensuring that the verification regime is completed, and functions as intended.”
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said by email, “During the Obama Administration, the U.S. has provided the CTBTO Prepcom $236,883,841.00 in annual assessments. In addition, the Administration has provided $25.5m toward the installation of a hydroacoustic station on Crozet Island as well as $27.6m to fund other improvements to the verification regime.”
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong said the nuclear-weapon states should take a lead role in maintaining a moratorium on nuclear tests, reduce the role of nuclear weapons in their security strategies, and commit to no-first-use of their arsenals. China, he said, “will continue to encourage the National People’s Congress to discuss the ratification of the Treaty. Meanwhile, we will continue to enhance public recognition to and support for the Treaty through publicity and education activities.”
Hamid Baeidinejad, director general of political and international security affairs in Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said nuclear-weapon states “have interpreted the Treaty in a narrow manner and have perceived the treaty as an instrument to ban only explosive tests and through this interpretation have continued to improve their nuclear arsenals through non-explosive nuclear testing.”
Those states “should bear the main responsibility in entry into force of the CTBT by taking lead in the ratification of the Treaty,” he said.
Diplomats from dozens of other nations also offered statements during the meeting.
Lassina Zerbo, executive secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the CTBT Organization, said at the ministerial meeting that the 20th anniversary is not yet “a cause for celebration” as long as the treaty remains “unfinished business.”
