2004: Second Joint Ministerial Statement

Sixty-six join the cause

Once again, the Foreign Ministers of the “Friends of the CTBT” gathered in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly to garner support for the Treaty. This time, Finland joined Australia, Japan and the Netherlands in convening the meeting; 66 foreign ministers associated themselves with the Joint Statement.

The 2004 Statement emphasized the CTBT as an integral part of agreements related to the NPT. It affirmed that the CTBT will make an important contribution towards preventing the proliferation of materials, technologies and knowledge that can be used for nuclear weapons, “one of the most important challenges the world is facing today.”

"The longer its entry into force is delayed, the more likely that nuclear testing will resume." Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan

Entry into force more urgent than ever

It was agreed that the CTBT's entry into force was more urgent than ever before. Progress on a CTBT should also contribute to a positive outcome of the 2005 NPT Review Conference. The Ministers committed themselves once again to making the CTBT a focus of attention at the highest political levels and to take measures to facilitate the process of signature and ratification.