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Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)

The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which opened for signature in 1996, is intended to prohibit all nuclear weapon test explosions. The CTBT has achieved near universal adherence, however, Article XIV of the Treaty requires ratification by 44 named states, before the Treaty can enter into force.

Of these 44 states, three - India, Pakistan, and North Korea - have not signed the Treaty. A further six states - China, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, and the United States - have signed but not ratified the Treaty.

Although the Bush Administration is currently continuing with the 13 year-old US nuclear test moratorium, it has made clear its opposition to the CTBT.

Latest Additions

• CTBT Entry into Force Conference Agrees on practical Measures and Calls for Hold-outs to Sign and Ratify, Disarmament Diplomacy, Issue No. 85, Summer 2007.
• Joint Ministerial Statement on CTBT Presented in New York at the United Nations by Fifty-Nine Foreign Ministers, Co-Chairs Australia, Canada, Finland, Japan, the Netherlands, September 20, 2006.
• Statement by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, September 20, 2006.
• '[O]ur best hope of stemming nuclear proliferation', IAEA Director General Dr Mohamed ElBaradei on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, September 1, 2006

Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the CTBT, New York, September 21-23, 2005

The 2005 Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty was attended by 117 states parties to the Treaty. The conference adopted a final declaration stating that parties would "spare no efforts and use all avenues open to us in conformity with international law to encourage further signature and ratification of the Treaty".

Conference Report

• Keeping Test Ban Hopes Alive: The 2005 CTBT Entry-into-force Conference
  by Daryl Kimball, including the Final Declaration of the Conference and the NGO Statement

Selected conference documents are available below:

• Conference on Facilitating Entry into Force of CTBT, Draft Final Declaration, adopted September 23, 2005
• Statement by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, September 21, 2005
• Statement by the Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, Mr. Tibor TOTH, September 21, 2005
• Report of Ambassador Jaap Ramaker, Special Representative to promote the ratification process of the CTBT, September 21, 2005
• NGO Statement, delivered by Daryl Kimball, Executive Director, The Arms Control Association, September 23, 2005.

Useful Links

• Further statements and official documents from the conference are available at: http://disarmament2.un.org/wmd/ctbt/2005-Conference/index.html.
• Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) for latest information on signatures and ratifications.
• Arms Control Association resource page on the CTBT.

Background information

• Joint Ministerial Statement on the CTBT, New York, September 23, 2004
• Beyond Article XIV: Strategies To Save The CTBT, by Rebecca Johnson, Disarmament Diplomacy, Issue No. 73
• CTBT Report, Disarmament Diplomacy, December 2001: Boycotts and Blandishments: Making the CTBT Visible, by Rebecca Johnson
• Who Needs the Nuclear Test Ban?, by Rebecca Johnson and Daryl Kimball, July-August 2001.
• The Bush Presidency: Reconsidering the CTBT, by Jack Mendelsohn, December 2000 - January 2001
• Shalikashvili CTBT Report, December 2000 - January 2001
• A Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: Signed but not Sealed, by Rebecca Johnson, ACRONYM Report No.10, May 1997

See also the Acronym Institute page on South Asia, for coverage of developments in India and Pakistan following the South Asian nuclear tests.

Conference on Facilitating Entry into Force of CTBT, Vienna, September 3-5, 2003

The 2003 Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), took place in Vienna, Austria, from 3 to 5 September 2003, was convened under Article XIV of the CTBT for the purpose of examining ways and means to accelerate the Treaty's entry into force.

• Beyond Article XIV: Strategies To Save The CTBT, by Rebecca Johnson, Disarmament Diplomacy, Issue No. 73
  • I. Treaty Status
  • II. Final Declaration & Measures to Promote Entry into Force, September 5
  • III. NGO Statement
• Additional Documents & Statements from the Conference

Note: for comprehensive coverage and documentation, see the website of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO), http://www.ctbto.org.

CTBT Article XIV Conference, November 11-13, 2001

The Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, took place at UN Headquarters in New York, from 11 to 13 November 2001.

• CTBT Report, Disarmament Diplomacy, December 2001: Boycotts and Blandishments: Making the CTBT Visible, by Rebecca Johnson
• Final Declaration, CTBT Signatories, and NGO Statement
• Preliminary Update from New York, November 13, 2001: High Level CTBT Meeting "Successful" despite US Boycott, by Rebecca Johnson

Background Information and Links

• UN Department for Disarmament Affairs, for official documentation concerning the forthcoming Article XIV Conference
• CTBTO Preparatory Commission for the complete text of the CTBT and details of preparations to implement the Treaty
• United Nations Treaty Section for an up-to-date list of CTBT signatories and ratifications.
• Reaching Critical Will CTBT Page
• Arms Control Association CTBT Page
• Carnegie Non-Proliferation Project Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) Resource Page
• Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers CTBT Page

Article XIV Conference, October 1999

In October 1999, the first Article XIV Conference was held to look at measures to encourage countries to ratify the CTBT, in order to facilitate entry into force.

• Spotlight on the CTBT: Report of the CTBT Article XIV Conference, by Rebecca Johnson
• Statement to the CTBT Article XIV Conference by Non-Governmental Organisations
• CTBT Article XIV Conference: Final Declaration

For official press releases and other documentation relating to the 1999 Article XIV Conference, go to the CTBT Organisation web site.

CTBT in Crisis, October 1999

On 13 October 1999, the US Senate voted to reject the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

• Article XIV Conference on Entry Into Force by Rebecca Johnson
• What Went Wrong with US Senate Ratification by Daryl Kimball
• International Implications of US Senate Vote by Patricia M Lewis
• Verifying the CTBT by Oliver Meier
• Statements and Comment in the United States
• International Statements and Comment

ACRONYM Reports and Articles

• February - March 1997: CTBT Moves to Vienna, by Rebecca Johnson
• 1996: Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: The Endgame, by Rebecca Johnson, ACRONYM Report No.9, A Review of the CTBT Negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament January - March 1996
• 1996: A Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: Signed but not Sealed, by Rebecca Johnson, ACRONYM Report No.10, A Review of CTBT Negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament January - September 1996
• 1995: Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: Now or Never, by Rebecca Johnson, ACRONYM Report No.8, A Report of the 1995 Conference on Disarmament Negotiations

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