CTBTO at the 2018 NPT PrepCom

Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo delivers the CTBTO statement to the 2018 NPT PrepCom
Our challenge is not to re-think the very value of the NPT or of the multilateral approach; rather it is to put it back on track. Diplomacy, backed up by rigorous science-based verification tools, remains the key to unlocking real security.

Lassina Zerbo with CTBTO GEM members Angela Kane and Sergio Duarte at the CTBTO/Pugwash side-event
If the NPT is under strain it is not because of a fatal flaw in the instrument itself. It is because not enough has been done to maintain and secure its entire chain of responsibilities – of which the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is an essential part.
Other distinguished speakers—including Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono—stressed the vital importance of CTBT in their country statements to the 2018 NPT PrepCom. Foreign Minister Kono pledged that Japan “will further promote its early entry into force and its universalization”.

Lassina Zerbo and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono at the 2018 NPT PrepCom
Japan will continuously ask all non-signing and non-ratifying states of the CTBT for their commitment to the treaty.

CTBTO GEM member Ambassador Jose Luis Cancela, Lassina Zerbo, and CTBTO Youth Group member Marzhan Nurzhan at the CTBTO/Pugwash side-event
On 25 April, the CTBTO and Pugwash co-hosted a discussion panel entitled “Bridging the Gap: the CTBT”. This discussion panel showcased the views of inter-generational experts on the role and contribution of the CTBT to bridge various gaps in the nuclear non-proliferation regime.
While at the UN in Geneva, Zerbo held a press briefing on the DPRK’s 21 April announcement on halting its nuclear testing programme and to dismantle its test site. The full video recording of the press briefing is available for viewing here.

Video recording of press briefing (25 April) by Lassina Zerbo at the UN in Geneva
Four paragraphs of the chair’s factual summary (NPT/CONF.2020/PC.II/CRP.3) were devoted to the CTBT. They indicated that “the urgency of bringing into force the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty as a core element of the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime was underscored. The link between the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the goals and objectives of the Non-Proliferation Treaty was emphasized. All States that have not yet done so were urged to sign and/or ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty without delay, in particular the remaining eight Annex 2 States.”
Furthermore, it was noted that “states parties called on all States to refrain from any action that would defeat the object and purpose of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty pending its entry into force. In this context, some States parties called for the unconditional cessation of all nuclear weapon tests and the closure of all nuclear weapon test sites”. The chair’s summary also notes that “States Parties further expressed their support for the International Monitoring System as vital to the effectiveness of the Treaty and to maintaining the norm that existing signatures and ratifications establish against nuclear testing”.

Ambassador Robert Wood, U.S. Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament, and CTBTO Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo at the 2018 NPT PrepCom
3 May 2018