CTBTO signs relationship agreement with
Association of Caribbean States

 The Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) and the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) concluded a relationship agreement today in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.   Mr. Ruben Silie, Secretary-General of the Association of Caribbean States, and Mr. Wolfgang Hoffmann, Executive Secretary of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, signed the agreement at the ACS headquarters in Port of Spain. Under the agreement the CTBTO Preparatory Commission and the ACS agree to cooperate closely with each other and to consult each other on matters of common interest.  Other matters dealt with in the agreement include the reciprocal representation at meetings of the two organizations and exchange of information and documents. The conclusion of the agreement will enhance efforts of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission to promote signature and ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) among ACS Member States. The agreement offers the CTBTO Preparatory Commission the opportunity to participate in ACS meetings, in particular at the Summit and the High Level Forum on ratification, which reviews all treaties and conventions.  The establishment of formal relations will also foster scientific and technical cooperation between the CTBTO Preparatory Commission and the ACS.  The ACS was established on 24 June 1994 in order to promote cooperation and concerted action among Caribbean States.  It has 25 Member States: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.  Five of the 25 ACS Member States have not yet signed the CTBT and of the ACS Member States that have signed the Treaty eight, including one Annex 2 State, have yet to ratify it.  Five ACS Member States are hosting CTBTO International Monitoring System facilities. The IMS facilities in these States will contribute to enhancing peace and security in the region and will provide substantial technical assistance to the host countries through the provision of equipment for the stations and training opportunities for station operators.  The Preparatory Commission for the CTBTO has concluded cooperation agreements with the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.   The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty bans any nuclear weapon test explosion.  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 enter into force, the CTBT must be signed 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.   So far, 175 States have signed the Treaty and 120 have deposited their instruments of ratification, of which 33 are States whose signature and ratification are necessary for the Treaty to enter into force.
*****************  The 20 ACS Member States which have signed the CTBT are: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Suriname and Venezuela.  The 12 ACS Member States which have deposited their instruments of ratification of the CTBT are: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Grenada, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Lucia 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