Workshop on CTBTO International Cooperation and National Implementation
of the Treaty for States in the Pacific

A Workshop on CTBTO International Cooperation and National Implementation of the Treaty for States in the Pacific was organized by the Provisional Technical Secretariat in Nadi, Fiji, from 16 to 17 June 2003. Twenty-five participants from 15 States in the Pacific, including three non-Signatory States (Palau, Tonga and Tuvalu), two representatives from the PIF Secretariat, and a representative from the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific attended the workshop.

The workshop provided a forum to:

• Enhance understanding of the CTBT, and foster exchange of information and experience with a view to ensuring effective support of the objectives of the CTBT and the establishment of the verification regime in the Pacific;
• Identify various needs for national implementation of the CTBT, including for legal support in drafting CTBT related national laws, for training, for technical assistance, etc., and explore ways and means to promote cooperation among States in the Pacific;
• Consider potential benefits of participating in the work of the Commission.

The participants, inter alia:

• Highlighted the role of the CTBT in advancing nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, and expressed strong support for the Treaty's early entry into force and the build-up of the verification system;
• Strongly urged States which have not signed or ratified the Treaty to do so, in particular those States with nuclear capability;
• Recognized that ratifying States need to adopt national implementation measures in a timely manner in order to fulfill their obligations under the Treaty;
• Identified capacity building as being key to ensuring the most effective participation in the CTBT regime;
• Recognized the benefits that the CTBT verification regime, technologies and data can provide for peaceful applications;
• Called upon the Commission and advanced States to provide appropriate technical assistance and training in International Monitoring System (IMS) technologies, as well as for operation of National Data Centres (NDCs) and use of International Data Centre (IDC) products, which was seen as an important element of capacity building;
• Proposed that PIF States should identify or clarify national focal points for liaison with the Commission and the PIF Secretariat and improve lines of communication;
• Proposed that the Commission should explore the possibility of establishing a cooperation agreement with the PIF Secretariat, which is the depositary of the Treaty of Rarotonga. This would facilitate the establishments of contacts with States that are not members of the Commission and enhance the visibility of the CTBT in the Pacific.