Intervention on behalf of Australia at the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Article XIV Conference

New York

Speech, check against delivery, E&OE

23 September 2011

Distinguished colleagues and friends, friends of nuclear disarmament across the world. Congratulations to France and Mexico, congratulations also to Sweden and Morocco. I say to our colleagues from Sweden and Mexico that these two states have excellent credentials in the field of nuclear disarmament and they have two Foreign Ministers with a deep commitment to the cause of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and I look forward to their excellent Presidency of the work of this important body.

Distinguished colleagues, while rarely in the headlines, the uncomfortable truth about nuclear weapons is that they continue to represent a fundamental threat to the family of nations, to the human family and in fact to the planet itself.

In the fifteen years since the CTBT opened for signature, the world has witnessed six nuclear tests. Six tests that have enhanced the deadliness of nuclear arsenals that remain beyond the reach of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty.

Although this number is substantially less that what occurred in the previous fifteen years, any nuclear test stands squarely in the way of our common objective, which is a world free on nuclear weapons.

Some states yet to ratify the CTBT have declared moratoria on nuclear testing. These moratoria helpfully serve to reinforce the taboo against developing nuclear weapons. But in the wake of these six nuclear tests, they clearly fall well short of the assurance we need that nuclear weapons will never again be tested by any country. By imposing a legally binding ban on testing – through ratification by the nine remaining Annex 2 states – we can minimise the threat of new states developing nuclear weapons, while also limiting the ability of existing nuclear weapons states to develop new and more lethal weapons.

The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty’s entry into force and effective implementation are essential for strengthening the non-proliferation regime and for reinforcing efforts toward our commonly held goal of a nuclear weapons free world. In preparation for this, we welcome the steady progress being made in the development and implementation of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty’s verification system. With more than eighty percent of the international monitoring system stations now up and running, much has been achieved.

These stations prove their effectiveness and reach in successfully monitoring the test conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 2009.

Australia has a long and proud association with the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Australia played an active role in negotiating the treaty in the Conference on Disarmament and when negotiations in Geneva faltered, Australia took it directly to the floor of the United Nations General Assembly. And we are pleased to be making a continued contribution. Australia hosted twenty one monitoring facilities, the third largest number of any state in the world and actively supports the CTBTO in developing on-site inspection and verification procedures.

Australia commends the work of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission and we call upon all states to provide strong, practical financial and political support for its critical work. Universalisation of the treaty is our passionately held goal.

For that reason, Australia congratulates Guinea on its recent ratification, and Ghana for ratifying in June of this year. We warmly welcome them to the fold. Every additional ratifying state sends a clear message to those who have yet to ratify. This global movement is growing and you should join it as well.

But it is with those countries whose ratification is required for entry into force that we now need to redouble our efforts.

To this end, Australia and nine other countries participating in the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative, co-chaired by Australia and Japan, have agreed to intensify our diplomatic efforts to help obtain the necessary ratifications. We must all make special efforts to highlight the manifest security benefits of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Not just as a final barrier to militarisation of nuclear weapons, but also as a significant confidence-building measure, especially in regions where tensions, and the potential for costly and dangerous arms races are high. Together with a verifiable Fissile Material Cut off Treaty, the entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty would be a major step towards the ultimate goal of a world free of nuclear weapons.

To conclude, the adoption of a strong and unanimous declaration at this Conference on facilitating the entry into force of the treaty would underscore our shared commitment to a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in force and fully implemented. A Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty that serves as an important milestone, marking real progress towards ridding the world of nuclear weapons. I thank the conference.

ENDS

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