Ukraine fourth Member State
to sign Facility Agreement

Ukraine is the fourth State Signatory to have concluded a Facility Agreement with the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). The Agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Preparatory Commission on the Conduct of Activities, Including Post-Certification Activities, Relating to International Monitoring Facilities for the CTBT was signed in Kiev, on 17 September 1999, by the Director-General of the National Space Agency of Ukraine on behalf of the Cabinet of Ministers, and in Vienna, on 27 September 1999, by the Executive Secretary on behalf of the Commission. The agreement, which will enter into force on ratification by the Ukrainian parliament, sets out the administrative procedures for upgrading, certifying and provisionally operating and maintaining the array at Malin, which Ukraine is hosting. In conducting its activities on the territory of Ukraine, the Commission is accorded the privileges and immunities of the specialized agencies of the United Nations. The National Space Agency is responsible for operating the array at Malin that Ukraine is contributing to the International Monitoring System to verify compliance with the CTBT. The Institute of Geophysics of the National Space Agency has carried out a survey of the station and found that both its infrastructure and equipment require upgrading to meet the Monitoring System´s certification criteria. The upgrading work has been initiated and data from the array are expected to be received by the International Data Centre by March, 2001. The three other States Signatories that have signed facility agreements are Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. The CTBT recognizes that halting all nuclear-weapon-test explosions is an effective measure of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Under the Treaty´s global verification regime, a network of 321 monitoring stations - spanning 89 countries - will be able to record data generated by nuclear explosions and other sources in the atmosphere, under water or underground. The network includes 50 primary and 120 auxiliary seismic stations from which data can be used to distinguish between nuclear explosions and the thousands of earth tremors registered annually by the seismic system. It also includes 80 radionuclide stations to sample radioactive debris released during a nuclear explosion and, in addition, 16 laboratories to assist in the analysis of samples. Furthermore, 60 infrasound and 11 hydroacoustic stations will be able to record acoustic signals in the atmosphere or under water that may have come from a nuclear explosion. The monitoring stations will transmit the data generated by the four complementary technologies to the International Data Centre (IDC), where the data will be used to detect, locate and characterize events. These data and other IDC products will be made available to the States Signatories for final analysis.

For further information on the CTBTO, please see www.ctbto.org or contact:
Annika Thunborg, Chief, Public Information  
T    +43 1 26030-6375  
E    annika.thunborg@ctbto.org
M    +43 699 1459 6375       
I    www.ctbto.org

For further information on the CTBTO, please see www.ctbto.org or contact:
Annika Thunborg, Chief, Public Information  
T    +43 1 26030-6375  
E    annika.thunborg@ctbto.org
M    +43 699 1459 6375       
I    www.ctbto.org