Hungary hosts fourth Experts' Meeting on civil and scientific application of CTBT verification technologies

The CTBTO Preparatory Commission, in cooperation with the Government of Hungary, held an Experts' Meeting on civil and scientific application of CTBT verification technologies in Budapest, Hungary, from 2 to 3 September 2006. This meeting was the fourth meeting dedicated to this subject matter, following earlier meetings in London, United Kingdom, in 2002, Sopron, Hungary, in 2003, and Berlin, Germany, in 2004. The Government of Hungary sponsored the meeting through a voluntary financial contribution. The Experts' Meeting in Budapest aimed at reviewing previously discussed and exploring new potential benefits of the application of verification technologies for scientific and civil purposes. In their discussions, participants took into consideration progress made in the continuing build-up of the CTBT verification regime and new expectations from States on the possible use of data for disaster warning systems. In addition, the Experts' Meeting discussed e-learning mechanisms as a means to promote national capacity building in States Signatories through the use of state of the art technology. Forty-four experts from twenty-eight countries and a representative of the Council of the European Union participated in the meeting along with a number of staff of the Commission's Provisional Technical Secretariat. Following an opening session, the meeting was organized in two substantive sessions. One session considered the potential civil and scientific applications of CTBT verification technologies. The second session discussed prospects and technical and contents related issues of the Commission's e-learning initiative.