Also refer: Evolution of Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) https://fotisedu.com/evolution-of-comprehensive-nuclear-test-ban-treaty-ctbt/
Why in news?
Russia is pulling out of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Russian parliament have passed legislation to revoke Russia’s ratification of the CTBT. The proposal now just requires President Vladimir Putin’s signature to become law.
What is CTBT?
The CTBT, agreed in 1996, bans “any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion” anywhere in the world, with the goal of reducing and ultimately eliminating nuclear weapons.
Its preamble says it is aimed at supporting disarmament and non-proliferation by constraining the development of nuclear weapons and stopping countries producing more advanced ones.
Which countries have signed and ratified CTBT?
A total of 187 states have signed the treaty, and 178 have ratified it in their parliaments.
Of the nine countries that possess nuclear weapons:
Britain and France have signed and ratified.
The United States, Israel and China have signed but not ratified.
Russia signed and ratified but is now withdrawing ratification, saying it is “mirroring” the US position.
India, Pakistan and North Korea have yet to sign or ratify.
What is the legal status of CTBT?
The treaty is not legally valid until 44 named countries sign and ratify it — all nine that have nuclear weapons, and 35 others that possess nuclear power and research reactors.
Does it have any practical effect then?
Yes, in practice the treaty has created a taboo against explosive nuclear tests. No country has carried such a test since the 1990s except North Korea, which conducted the most recent of its six tests in 2017.
The treaty established a global network of observation posts that can detect the sound, shockwaves or radioactive fallout from a nuclear explosion. When complete, it will comprise 321 monitoring stations and 16 laboratories, hosted by 89 countries. Around 90 per cent are already operational, including in Russia and the United States.
Did the CTBT stop nuclear testing?
Since the CTBT, 10 nuclear tests have taken place. India conducted two in 1998, Pakistan also two in 1998, and North Korea conducted tests in 2006, 2009, 2013, 2016 (twice) and 2017, according to the United Nations.
The United States last tested in 1992, China and France in 1996 and the Soviet Union in 1990. Russia, which inherited most of the Soviet nuclear arsenal, has never conducted a nuclear test.
What is Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO)?
The Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO)
is an international organization established by the States Signatories to the Treaty on 19 November 1996 and has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
The objective of the organization is to achieve the object and purpose of the Treaty, to ensure the implementation of its provisions, including those for international verification of compliance with the Treaty, and to provide a forum for consultation and cooperation among Member States.
What is India’s stand on CTBT?
The 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) has yet to enter into force because of the unwillingness of a number of states—including India—to ratify it. Although India initially participated in negotiating the CTBT, it subsequently walked out of the negotiations and has never signed the treaty.
There has been a long debate in India over the need for nuclear testing. This debate preceded the country’s first nuclear test in 1974, was revived again with the 1998 tests and has entered a new phase since the 2005 India–United States deal on civil nuclear cooperation. This debate has developed alongside the growth of India’s nuclear deterrent.
It is unlikely that India will ratify the CTBT in the foreseeable future—even if China or the United States do—given the present domestic and international circumstances. The most likely outcome is that India will continue to observe its voluntary moratorium on testing nuclear weapons, while keeping open in principle its option to resume testing.
India’s stand on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is a principled one. India has declared that it would be unable to sign and ratify the CTBT in its present discriminatory form. However, India has pledged to continue with its voluntary and unilateral moratorium on further nuclear testing. India is the only nuclear weapon state to declare that it believes its security would be enhanced, not diminished, in a world free of nuclear weapons.
