Conference on Facilitating the
Entry into Force of the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban
Treaty to take place in Vienna
in September 2003

Member States which have ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty have decided to request the United Nations Secretary-General to call for a conference this year to examine ways and means to accelerate the Treaty's entry into force.  The conference, referred to as the Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, is called for under Article XIV of the Treaty, and will be convened in the Austria Centre at Vienna, Austria, from 3 to 5 September 2003. Article XIV of the Treaty states that if the Treaty has not entered into force three years after the date of the anniversary of its opening for signature, a conference may be held upon the request of a majority of ratifying States.  Such a conference is held to examine to what extent the requirements for entry into force have been met, and to decide on measures to accelerate the ratification process.  Conferences may be carried out at subsequent anniversaries of the opening for signature until such time as the Treaty has entered into force.  In previous years, the rate of signature and ratification has risen significantly in the period immediately before such a conference.  Article XIV Conferences have been held in Vienna in 1999, and in New York in 2001. All States, both Signatories and those which have not yet signed, are invited to attend the conference, as are specialized agencies and intergovernmental organizations which have been granted observer status.  Non-Governmental Organizations are also invited to attend. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty bans all nuclear weapon test explosions in any environment. Drafted at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, and opened for signature on 24 September 1996, the Treaty must be ratified by 44 named States before it can enter into force.
  ******************* The 101 States that have deposited their instruments of ratification of the CTBT are: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guyana, Holy See, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Latvia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Samoa, San Marino, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Venezuela.

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