Guatemala hosts Regional Workshop on CTBTO International Cooperation

A three-day regional workshop on Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) International Cooperation was held in Guatemala City, Guatemala, from 19 to 21 September 2005. The workshop took place at the invitation of the Government of Guatemala and was organized by the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) of the Preparatory Commission for the CTBTO with the support of UNDP. Forty participants from twenty-five States of the Latin America and the Caribbean Region, including one non-signatory State, as well as representatives of the Association of Caribbean States and the UN Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development attended the workshop. The objective of the workshop was to enhance the awareness of the work of the Preparatory Commission and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) verification technologies, including the International Monitoring System (IMS) and the International Data Centre; to review possible benefits of civil and scientific application of the CTBT verification technologies; to promote the establishment of the verification regime and the entry into force of the Treaty; and to provide legal information regarding signature, ratification and national implementation of the CTBT. In his opening statement, H.E. Mr. Carlos Ramiro Martinez, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, presented an overview of the history of disarmament, highlighting the achievements of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco). Workshop participants shared their experiences with national implementation of the Treaty and domestic and international technical cooperation in regard to IMS station installation and establishment of National Data Centres in Latin America and the Caribbean. Participants made further proposals for enhanced cooperation between the Preparatory Commission and States in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region as well as for increased cooperation among States within the region and with other regions.