Cape Verde signs Facility Arrangement

Cape Verde and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) concluded a Facility Arrangement. The arrangement was signed by Mr. Tibor Tóth, Executive Secretary, on 10 November 2006, on behalf of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, and by H.E. Mr. Victor Borges, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Communities, on 23 November 2006, on behalf of Cape Verde. The Facility Arrangement will regulate the conduct of activities in respect of infrasound station IS11 on Maio Island. The arrangement grants the Commission the necessary legal authority to carry out work at this International Monitoring System (IMS) facility on Cape Verde's territory. It will come into effect when Cape Verde notifies the CTBTO Preparatory Commission that it has fulfilled all national requirements for the arrangement to enter into force. Cape Verde signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty on 1 October 1996 and ratified it on 1 March 2006. The IMS, consisting of 337 facilities, is part of the global verification regime to verify compliance with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. The CTBTO Preparatory Commission has now signed 36 Facility Agreements or Facility Arrangements with States hosting IMS facilities. Of those, 28 have entered into force and one is being provisionally applied.