Invitation to press briefing
on conference to promote
the Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

A press briefing on the upcoming Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) will take place on 12 September 2007 at 10.00 hours at the Vienna International Centre, press briefing room, C-building, third floor.  Permanent Representatives to the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) Ambassador Ana Teresa Dengo of Costa Rica and Ambassador Thomas Stelzer of Austria will brief on the objective of the conference in their capacity as Chairpersons of the Conference's preparatory process.  Mr. Tibor Toth, Executive Secretary of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, will also be present. The Conference will take place on 17 and 18 September 2007 in the former imperial palace Hofburg in Vienna, Austria.  It will be presided by Her Excellency Ursula Plasnik, Minister for European and International Affairs of Austria, and His Excellency Bruno Stagno Ugarte, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Worship of Costa Rica. The aim of the Conference is to promote the CTBT, to call upon States that have not yet done so to sign and/or ratify the Treaty without delay, and to find additional ways to promote the Treaty's entry into force.  A Final Declaration is expected to outline the agreed steps towards fulfilling the Conference's objective. With 177 signatures and 139 ratifications to date, the Treaty is close to universality.  For the CTBT to enter into force, all 44 so-called Annex 2 States have to ratify the Treaty. 34 out of 44 of these States have already ratified the Treaty, including the three nuclear weapon States France, Russian Federation and the United Kingdom. The ten remaining States are China, Colombia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Egypt, India, Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, Pakistan and the United States of America. Three Annex 2 States, the DPRK, India and Pakistan, have not yet signed the Treaty. The Conference is referred to as "Article XIV Conference" after the respective article in the CTBT.  The article calls for follow-up conferences to promote the Treaty if it has not entered into force three years after its adoption.  Previous conferences were held in 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2005.

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