CTBT Ministerial Meetings
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks at the 2014 Ministerial Meeting, 26 September 2014 - UN, New York
Ministerial Meetings to promote entry into force
In the years between the Article XIV Conferences, Foreign Ministers of CTBT Member States particularly dedicated to entry into force of the CTBT meet on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York in September. The aim of these meetings is to sustain and generate further political momentum as well as public attention for the entry into force of the Treaty. To that end, the Ministers adopt and sign Joint Ministerial Statements that are open for adherence by other countries.
“The CTBT is among the most widely accepted and most effective normative instruments to contain and reduce nuclear threats, and its entry into force must be achieved without further delay.”
An initiative by Japan, Australia and the Netherlands
The initiative for these meetings was taken by Japan in cooperation with Australia and the Netherlands, who organised the first “Friends of the CTBT” Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York in 2002. Today, the group also includes Canada, Germany and Finland.
Continuously increasing support
The meetings are open to all ratifying states, while State Signatories and non-signatories can participate as observers. Like the Article XIV Conferences, the CTBT Ministerial Meetings make an important contribution through the regular promotion of the Treaty's entry into force.
