CTBTO to hold Scientific
Symposium from
31 August - 01 September 2006

The Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) will hold a scientific symposium titled "CTBT:  Synergies with Science, 1996-2006 and Beyond" from 31 August to 01 September 2006 at Kongresszentrum Hofburg, Vienna. The symposium will be opened with addresses by Dr Hans Winkler, State Secretary, Austrian Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Tibor Toth, Executive Secretary of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission. The keynote speaker is Dr Mohammed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency.  Other guest speakers will include Mr Nobuaki Tanaka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, and Dr Wolfgang Hoffmann, Executive Secretary Emeritus of the Preparatory Commission. The symposium will also be accompanied by a multimedia show and an exhibition titled "Verifying the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban".  The symposium is to provide a starting point for increased interaction between the scientific community worldwide, the Preparatory Commission for the CTBTO and States Signatories to the Treaty in order to increase the ability to build global capacity in relevant science and technology fields related to the activities of the Commission.  The CTBT bans any nuclear weapons test explosion or any other nuclear explosion in any environment.  Drafted at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 September 1996, the Treaty must be ratified by 44 named States before it can enter into force.  To date the Treaty has 176 Signatures and 135 ratifications.

For further information on the CTBTO, please see www.ctbto.org or contact:
Annika Thunborg, Chief, Public Information  
T    +43 1 26030-6375  
E    [email protected]
M    +43 699 1459 6375       
I    www.ctbto.org