STAY INFORMED

Contribute

Tell a Friend

DID YOU KNOW?

You can TAKE ACTION to make a more livable world right now! Click here for things you can do to make a difference.

» Find out more

Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) Fact Sheet

April 15, 2008

  • The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) bans all nuclear explosions. It was opened for signature on September 24, 1996, when it was signed by 71 States, including the five nuclear-weapon States. There are currently 178 Signatories.
  • Tasked with carrying out the necessary preparations for the effective implementation of the Treaty, the CTBTO Preparatory Commission was established by the States Signatories to the Treaty on November 19, 1996. It consists of a plenary body composed of all the States Signatories and the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS).
  • The Commission's main task is the establishment of the International Monitoring System (IMS) and the International Data Centre (IDC), and the development of operational manuals, including for on-site inspections. The IMS network currently consists of 225 certified monitoring facilities all over the globe, including seismic, infrasound, hydroacoustic and radionuclide monitoring stations as well as radionuclide laboratories. The Treaty foresees the completion of 337 IMS facilities in all.
  • In October 2006, with less than 2/3 of the its facilities operating at the time, the IMS recorded the location and the magnitude of North Korea's nuclear test and made key noble gas measurements. Since then, nearly 50 new stations have been integrated into the system and are providing data. The number of noble gas stations has also increased by 70% and the network of hydroacoustic stations is now virtually complete.
  • The Commission's budget for 2008 is $55,621,900 and €42,721,600, with some 80% dedicated to the establishment of the global verification regime. As at October 9, 2006, the PTS comprised 259 staff members from 65 States Signatories.
  • The CTBT will enter into force 180 days after it has been ratified by the 44 States listed in its Annex 2. These 44 States include all who formally participated in the 1996 session of the Conference on Disarmament and possess either nuclear power or research reactors.
  • Of the 44 Annex 2 States, 41 have signed the Treaty and 35 have ratified it. Colombia's recent ratification leaves China, North Korea, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, and the United States as the last hold-outs. Of the Annex 2 States, only North Korea, India and Pakistan have neither signed nor ratified the Treaty.

Prepared for by Jeff Lindemyer, Policy Fellow at Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, sister organization of Council for a Livable World