Ambassador Tibor Toth becomes
new Executive Secretary of the
Preparatory Commission
for the CTBTO

Ambassador Tibor Toth of Hungary has formally assumed his function as Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBTO). He succeeds Ambassador Wolfgang Hoffmann of Germany who has held this position since March 1997. Mr Toth also takes over as chief administrative officer of the Provisional Technical Secretariat. Mr Toth is a senior Hungarian diplomat with extensive experience in the field of arms control and disarmament. In past assignments he served as Permanent Representative of Hungary to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva and Vienna as well as to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague. Since the establishment of the Preparatory Commission for the CTBT in November 1996 and through 2004, Mr Toth was the Chairperson of the subsidiary body of the Commission responsible for budgetary and administrative matters. The Preparatory Commission for the CTBTO was established by States Signatories on 19 November 1996 at the United Nations in New York. It is mandated to carry out all necessary preparations for the effective implementation of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), including the establishment of the global verification regime, which should be operational when the Treaty enters into force. The Preparatory Commission for the CTBTO also prepares for the first Conference of States Parties to the Treaty, which will take place no later than 30 days after the Treaty's entry into force. The CTBT bans all nuclear weapons test explosions. Drafted at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, and adopted by the General Assembly on 10 September 1996, the Treaty was opened for signature on 24 September 1996 at the United Nations headquarters in New York. To date, 175 States have signed the Treaty and 122 have ratified it. To enter into force, the CTBT must be singed and ratified by the 44 States listed in Annex 2 to the Treaty. These States formally participated in the work of the 1996 session of the Conference on Disarmament and possessed nuclear power or research reactors at that time. To date, 33 of the Annex 2 States have ratified the Treaty.

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