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Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT): Definition, Provision and Criticism
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Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT):
Definition, Provision and Criticism
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The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) was finally opened for signature by the
then UN Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Ghali on September 24, 1996. At a ceremony
held at a UN Chamber, the US President Mr. Bill Clinton was the first head of state to
sign the treaty. The US was followed by the other four permanent members of the UN
Security Council—France, Britain, Russia and China. A large number of nations signed
the treaty after it was opened for signatures.
India, Pakistan and Israel, who were till then called “nuclear threshold” nations,
refused to sign the treaty as they found it “inadequate and unequal”. Earlier, on
September 10, 1996 the UN General assembly had approved the CTBT. 158 memberstates had voted in favour of the resolution put forward by Australia while three—India,
Bhutan and Libya — voted against it. Tanzania, Lebanon, Mauritius, Cuba and Syria
were highly critical of the text and abstained form voting.
Main Provisions of the CTBT:
1. The Treaty banned every kind of nuclear weapons test or nuclear explosion.
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2. An international monitoring system was to be set up for checking violations of CTBT.
3. Any underground, atmospheric or underwater explosions more powerful than the
equivalent of 1,000 tones of conventional explosive was to be detected by a network of
20 stations.
4. Further, based on information collected by the international monitoring system or
through surveillance by individual countries (but not through spying activities), any
country could request an inspection to see whether an explosion had been carried out
or not. A request for an inspection was to require 30 votes in the 51-member Executive
Council.
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Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT): Definition, Provision and Criticism
The seat of the CTBT organisation was to be Vienna, Austria. All decisions were to be
made by a 51-member Executive Council, whose representatives were to be chosen
regionally.
Criticism of CTBT:
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(i) No time-table was incorporated in the CTBT for making the five nuclear weapon
countries to destroy their nuclear weapons.
(ii) The entry into force clause was unacceptable.
(iii) The nuclear haves retained the advantage. They secured the recognition of their
right of modernizing their n-arsenals.
(iv) The treaty was not comprehensive, because it only banned nuclear weapons test.
Computer simulated tests could be used by the nuclear haves to go ahead with the
process of perfecting their weapons system. Sub-critical tests were vaguely dealt with.
Because of such objections, in August 1996 India vetoed the CTBT text at the
Conference on Disarmament (CD) at Geneva. As a result, the plenary of the CD had no
text of the CTBT to recommend to the UN General Assembly. But in order to get the
UN stamp on the text that was blocked at the CD, the text was presented as an
“information document” upon which Australia backed by more than 120 nations,
moved a resolution that it be adopted and Secretary-General be asked to open the
treaty for signatures by the member-countries.
The blocked CTBT thus got ‘Smuggled’ into the UN. It was adopted by the UN and
several states came forward to sign it. Gradually almost all the states with few
exceptions signed it. However, CTBT found it difficult to receive ratification by the
signatories. In May, 1998, India conducted five nuclear tests and declared herself to be
a nuclear weapon state. After that Pakistan also conducted 6 nuclear tests and declared
that it too had nuclear weapons. Both did not sign the CTBT.
With a view to put pressure upon India and Pakistan for signing CTBT, the USA, Japan,
Australia, Britain and some other developed countries enforced economic sanctions
against both the countries. India asserted her right to have a minimum nuclear
deterrence deemed essential for her security and maintained the decision of not signing
the CTBT.
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Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT): Definition, Provision and Criticism
Pakistan linked her decision with India’s position and refused to sign the CTBT. In
November 1999, the US Senate also refused to ratify the CTBT as signed by the US
President. This gave rise to serious doubts regarding the actual operationalization of
CTBT. After this development, the CTBT came to be virtually placed in a cold storage.
Several countries believe that so long as CTBT does not provide for a time bound
nuclear disarmament programme by the nuclear weapon states, there can be little use
of this treaty. Presently, there appears to be little sign of a revival of CTBT.
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As such the nuclear weapons states have been trying to maintain a discriminatory
nuclear regime. They have been also trying to practise a sort of nuclear hegemony in
international relations. They have been using the concept of non-proliferation for
justifying their hegemonistic international behaviour.
PTBT, NPT and the CTBT have been in reality instruments designed to legitimize the
nuclear weapons of the P-5, to perpetuate their superior nuclear status, and to impose a
particular discriminatory and hegemonistic nuclear regime on non-nuclear states. The
issue of N-proliferation versus non-probferation continues to remain present in the
discussions of statesmen and scholars.
Meanwhile international relations continue to live with the presence of nuclear
weapons of P5 + 2 states. In July 2005, the USA tacitly recognized India as a defect npower—a responsible state with advanced nuclear technology. In July 2007 India and
the USA negotiated the Indo-US civil nuclear cooperation deal (123 Agreement) India
became the first country to enter such a deal while remaining away from NPT.
In October 2008 Indo-US Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement came into operation.
Thereafter India signed similar agreements with France and Russia.In2009 North
Korea also conducted its n-tests and claimed its n-weapon status. Iran too has been
now going ahead with its nuclear enrichment technology development programme.
In September 2009 the UN Security Council approved the NPT treaty which called
upon all states to sign the NPT. However, India declared that it continues to follow the
decision on not signing the NPT as a non-weapon state .Hence politics of n-weapons
continues to be present in international relations.
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