Executive Secretary concludes
mission to Brazil and Chile

The Executive Secretary of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, Mr. Wolfgang Hoffmann, has concluded a ten day mission to Brazil and Chile. Both Brazil and Chile are Annex 2 States ? they are among the 44 States whose ratification is required before the Treaty can enter into force. Brazil ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty on 24 July 1998, and hosts seven International Monitoring System (IMS) facilities. Chile ratified the Treaty on 12 July 2000, and also hosts seven IMS facilities. While in Brazil, Mr. Hoffmann visited Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia. In Chile, the Executive Secretary visited Santiago and Punta Arenas. In Rio de Janeiro, the Executive Secretary met the Superintendent of the Institute of Radiation Protection and Dosimetry and heard a presentation on the activities of the Institute, including information on the Institute?s IMS radionuclide laboratory. The Executive Secretary then visited a radionuclide station, RN11, which is due to be certified as meeting all the requirements necessary to become a recognized part of the IMS in April. In Brasilia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized a working meeting with the General-Director of the Department of International Organizations, Ambassador Antonio Jos? Vallim Guerreiro. Officers from the Ministry?s Division of Disarmament and Sensitive Technologies, the Ministry of Defence, and scientific staff from the University of Brasilia also attended. Thanking Brazil for its support to the CTBT, Mr. Hoffmann highlighted the special role of the Ambassador of Brazil in Vienna as Chair of the G-77 and China. The Executive Secretary encouraged the promotion of signature and ratification of the Treaty, particularly in countries neighbouring Brazil. He later paid a courtesy call to the Acting Minister of External Relations, Ambassador Samuel Pinheiro Guimar?es and to the Under-Secretary-General for Political Issues, Ambassador Gilberto Vergne Sab?ia. On 12 March, the Executive Secretary paid a courtesy call to the Minister of Defence, Ambassador Jos? Viegas Filho, where he underlined the importance of Brazil?s technical and political support to the Treaty. The programme for the day ended with a visit to two IMS stations managed by the Seismological Observatory of the University of Brasilia, primary seismic station PS7 and infrasound station IS9. The stations are located in the National Park of Brasilia. On his arrival in Santiago, Chile, on 13 March, Mr. Hoffmann attended a working meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he met with the Director of Special Policy, Ambassador Luis Winter Igualt. Issues regarding the promotion of the Treaty?s entry into force were discussed, with an emphasis on Chile?s important role as an Annex 2 State in encouraging States in the region to sign and ratify the Treaty. The Director of Special Policy underlined Chile?s support for the Treaty, noting that not only did Chile ratify early on, but that it had also led the Rio Group?s support for the Treaty at the 2001 Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Treaty. Chile fully supports the advancement of the Treaty?s implementation. On 14 March Mr Hoffmann made introductory remarks at a seminar organized by the Commission on Nuclear Energy (CCHEN) on the goals and current status of the CTBT. He also met the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Mar?a Soledad Alvear Valenzuela, and expressed his appreciation for Chile?s technical efforts in strengthening international security and providing information to the scientific community. The Minister, welcoming the Executive Secretary, confirmed her country?s support for the Treaty and expressed her conviction that the CTBTO Provisional Technical Secretariat and the Government of Chile will continue to work together to enhance international peace and security. In the afternoon, CCHEN organized a technical meeting to review implementation of the Treaty. Issues such as how to deal with data and the technical work in Robinson Crusoe Island were discussed. On March 17, the inauguration ceremony for the radionuclide station (RN18) located in Punta Arenas took place at the University of Magellan. It was attended by the Provincial Governor of the XII Region, Mr. Ra?l Magallanes Hein Bozic, the Dean of the University of Magellan, Dr. Victor Fajardo Morales, the Chairman of the Executive Council of CCHEN, Dr. Roberto Hojman, local authorities, members of the Chilean scientific community, and the consular corps accredited in Punta Arenas. RN18 is situated at one of the most southerly parts of Chile. Of the 33 States in the Latin America and Caribbean geographic region, 26 have signed the CTBT, and 18 have ratified it. Six States in the region are listed in Annex 2 to the Treaty ? their ratification is required before the Treaty can enter into force. All six have signed the Treaty. Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru have ratified the Treaty. States in the Latin America and Caribbean geographical region host a total of 43 IMS stations. The CTBT bans any nuclear weapon 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 was opened for signature on 24 September 1996 at United Nations Headquarters in New York. For the CTBT to enter into force, a further 13 of the 44 nuclear-capable States listed in the Treaty must ratify it. ******************* The 98 States that have deposited their instruments of ratification of the CTBT are: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, C?te d?Ivoire,Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guyana, Holy See, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Latvia, Lao People?s Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Samoa, San Marino, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Venezuela. The 166 States that have so far signed the treaty are: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Islamic Republic of, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mexico, Micronesia, Federated States of, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

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