Serbia and Montenegro ratifies the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

Serbia and Montenegro has deposited its instrument of ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) with the United Nations Secretary-General on 19 May 2004.  Serbia and Montenegro's ratification brings the total number of Treaty ratifications to 113.  Of the 22 States in the Eastern Europe geographical region, 19 have now ratified the Treaty.   To enter into force, the CTBT must be signed and ratified by the 44 States listed in Annex 2 to the Treaty.  These States formally participated in the work of the 1996 session of the Conference on Disarmament and possessed nuclear power or research reactors at that time.  To date, 32 of these States have ratified the Treaty.  All seven of the Annex 2 States in the Eastern Europe geographical region have ratified the Treaty.

The CTBT was drafted at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, and adopted by the General Assembly on 10 September 1996.  It opened for signature on 24 September 1996 at the United Nations headquarters in New York.  The Treaty bans all nuclear test explosions.  Compliance with the terms of the Treaty is monitored by a global verification regime, which uses a 337-facility network of seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound and radionuclide stations to detect evidence of possible nuclear explosions.

The 113 States that have deposited their instruments of ratification of the CTBT are: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guyana, Holy See, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Samoa, San Marino, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, 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.

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