CTBTO and Association of Caribbean States sign relationship agreement

The Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) and the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) concluded a relationship agreement on 7 March 2005. The Agreement was signed in the Headquarters of the ACS in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, by Mr. Rubén Silié, Secretary-General of the ACS, and Mr. Wolfgang Hoffmann, Executive Secretary of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission. The agreement stipulates that the CTBTO Preparatory Commission and the ACS will cooperate closely and consult each other on matters of common interest. The agreement also includes the reciprocal representation at meetings of the two organizations and the exchange of information and documents. The conclusion of the agreement will support efforts of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission to promote signature and ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) among ACS Member States. The ACS was established on 24 June 1994 in order to promote cooperation and concerted action among Caribbean States. Five of the 25 ACS Member States have not yet signed the CTBT. Of the twenty ACS Member States that have signed the Treaty, eight, including one Annex 2 State, have yet to ratify it. The Preparatory Commission for the CTBTO has concluded similar agreements with the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.