Committee:
Issue:
Student Officer:
I- Introduction
GA 1 – Disarmament
Ensuring underwater nuclear non-proliferation
Cem Gokmen (Deputy Chair of GA 1)
After the discovery of the potential of nuclear energy as a weapon in the 1940s, an extensive program of nuclear testing began in the United States. Started with the
Trinity test on July 16, 1945; the
United States went on to use its new technology on Japan – the nuclear bombs Little Boy and Fat Man were detonated and the use of nuclear weapons as a means of deterrence began. In 1949, the Soviet Union became the second nation to successfully test a nuclear weapon.
The UK, France and China became
Figure 1 – The Cloud Released After the First
Underwater Explosion at the Bikini Atoll in 1946 nuclear weapons states in 1952, 1960 and 1964 respectively; and as a part of the deterrence strategy of the Cold
War, the nuclear weapons testing continued. By the year 1962, the number of tests per year had risen to 178 from the mere 3 in the 1940s.
The use of the seas for nuclear weapons related purposes began when accidents and fallout from atmospheric tests quickly led these states to try other methods of testing, mainly underground, underwater, and in outer space. The United States and the Soviet Union started underwater tests to fulfill two objectives: measuring the strength of nuclear weapons against naval vessels, and testing larger nuclear weapons through detonation without causing as much fallout as regular atmospheric tests.
Underwater testing was the preferred method of testing mainly due to the higher incompressibility of the water, since it makes a good conductor of shock waves from the explosion. The neutrons released from the explosion also do not cause the water to form radioactive isotopes, making it possible to entirely get rid of the risk of radioactive fallout.
Due to the fact that underwater tests close to the surface tended to disperse radioactive water and steam over a large area, severely affecting human and marine life as well as nearby structures, like experienced in the
Castle Bravo test performed by the United States in the Marshall Islands,
Figure 2 – The Ballistic Missile Launch
Tubes of USS Sam Rayburn, an American
Ballistic Missile Submarine the detonation of nuclear weapons underwater was banned first by the
1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and subsequently by the 1996
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. The latter, however, failed to enter into force due to the non-ratification of eight signatory states, namely China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, North
Korea, Pakistan and the United States. The non-ratification of the treaty poses a threat due to the fact that the aforementioned countries include some of the prominent actors of the nuclear testing scene.

The other part of the expansion of the nuclear arsenal to the seas was the invention of the ballistic missile submarine.
Initially designed and used by the Soviet Union, these submarines which were able to stealthily roam the seas and bring the nuclear arsenal to the enemy’s front door, became the main part of the nuclear weapons delivery plans of multiple countries. Today, the United
Kingdom, United States, France, Russia and China rely on ballistic missile submarines as their main weapon of nuclear deterrence.
II- Involved Countries and Organizations
United States of America
The United States of America has been the pioneering country in the development, testing and deployment of nuclear devices since their discovery. Having performed the first nuclear detonation test and the first underwater nuclear detonation test, the United States went on to remain the power behind the most nuclear tests every year from 1945 to 1960. At that point a great increase in number of tests was seen due to the rivalry that took place after the
Soviet Union started nuclear detonation tests of its own. The United States alone performed
347 nuclear tests until 1963, 153 (44%) of these between 1960 and 1963. Most of these tests were performed on the Marshall Islands in the Pacific, and caused great harm to the region’s inhabitants. The Castle Bravo test, which was the most powerful detonation of a nuclear device by the United States, ended up causing an accident that resulted in the dispersion of nuclear fallout into the surrounding region, making it necessary to evacuate the neighboring islands. Many inhabitants of the region in the following years were born with birth defects and the American government had to pay them in compensation. As a result of such accidents during its testing, the United States became one of the three main negotiators of the Partial
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which banned all types of nuclear testing but underground. After it signed the treaty, it carried on its nuclear testing underground, and performed 1032 tests in total by 2014, almost half of the 2119 tests that have together been carried out by every nation so far. The United States went on to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in
1996 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. However the United States Senate refused to ratify the treaty and thus it has not entered into force. President Barack Obama, in a speech in
Prague on 5 April 2009, announced that “ [To] achieve a global ban on nuclear testing, my administration will immediately and aggressively pursue U.S. ratification of the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. After more than five decades of talks, it is time for the testing of nuclear weapons to finally be banned.” The United States, however, has yet to ratify the treaty as of the time this report was written.
The United States was also one of the two leading countries in the development of nuclear weapon bearing submarines. In 1959, shortly after the launch of the first Soviet ballistic missile submarine in 1955, the United States launched its first ballistic missile submarine; the USS George Washington (SSBN-598) was launched. The United States launched a total of 41 ballistic missile submarines from 1958 to 1965. Today, 18 Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines remain in service in the United States Navy.
Russian Federation (and the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)
Russian Federation’s predecessor state, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was also a prominent actor in the development and testing of nuclear weapons. Having carried out their first nuclear device detonation test in 1949, the Soviet Union performed its first underwater detonation test in 1955 in the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. The same testing site was used in 1961 for the detonation of the Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated, and the most powerful artificial explosion in human history. The Soviet
Union was also part of the nuclear arms race with the United States of America and carried out 727 nuclear tests (34%). However, these tests together constitute 55% of all tests by yield.
The Soviet Union was one of the negotiating states in the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

alongside the US and it continued to carry out its testing underground after signing the treaty. After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, the nuclear arms race ended, and in 1996 the Russian Federation signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. The said treaty has not yet entered into force due to the non-ratification of several signatories.
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was also the leading developer of ballistic missile submarines. The first nuclear missile-carrying submarine was a Zulu class submarine modified to include a single ballistic missile launcher in its sail. The Soviet Navy extended its arsenal of ballistic missile submarines with the introduction of the Golf , Hotel , Yankee and
Delta classes. Twenty-two ballistic missile submarines remain in service in the Russian Navy today.
People’s Republic of China
The People’s Republic of China, also one of the main forces in the nuclear weapons field, started its nuclear weapons program in 1954 with Mao Zedong’s decision to attempt to use it to increase China’s diplomatic credibility. Initially dependent on Soviet help, the program lost Soviet support in 1960 after the Sino-Soviet split that lead to the ending of the two nations’ agreement on military and technologic cooperation. China, however, went on to successfully test its first nuclear weapon in 1964. The test was performed underwater, just like China’s all other tests, in a lake called Lop Nor. This lake dried out in the following years partially due to extensive testing. China has been actively producing nuclear weapons since its first test, and due to the lack of military transparency, the extent of its current arsenal is unknown, with predictions from as few as 400 to as many as 3,000. Despite having performed their last test in 1996, the PRC is a non-signatory of the Partial Test Ban Treaty. Furthermore, even though it is one of the signatories of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, China has failed to ratify it. Therefore at this moment there are no limitations to China’s nuclear testing.
China is also an active user of ballistic missile submarines, having launched its first such submarine in 1981. Only two models of the initial class, Type 092 , were produced and one of them was lost in an accident. In 2004, China introduced a new class of ballistic missile submarines, Type 094 , and so far 5 of the 6 planned submarines of this class have entered service. Its next generation ballistic missile submarine, Type 096 , is expected to enter service in late-2014.
France
The French Republic tested its first nuclear weapon in Algeria in 1960. The reason behind the development of the French nuclear arsenal was deterrence against a possible
Soviet invasion of Western Europe. Witnessing the inability of the US to use its full strength in Vietnam due to fears of causing a larger conflict with the Soviet Union, France recognized the need to develop its own defensive strategies. Initially developing and storing its nuclear arsenal in Algeria, France was forced to detonate its entire nuclear arsenal in a variety of tests in 1960 and 1962 due to the risk of the weapons falling into the hands of generals in Algeria rebelling against French colonial rule. After Algeria gained its independence, France continued its testing in the Moruroa and Fangataufa Atolls in French Polynesia. These underwater tests, despite not causing any unintended fallout, were frowned upon, especially after the French Republic failed to sign the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Nevertheless,
France signed and ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996 and effectively ended its nuclear weapons testing.
The modern French nuclear arsenal heavily relies on SLBMs and its ballistic missile submarines. The initial ballistic missile submarine class, Redoutable , was launched in 1971, and 6 submarines of the class were launched in total. In 1997, the submarines were replaced

with Triomphant class submarines, 4 of which were produced.
These 4 submarines remain in service today, forming the backbone of the French nuclear arsenal.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom became the third country to test a nuclear weapon in 1952. It performed all of its tests on its colonies’ territories: 21 at Australia, 3 at Maiden Island and 6 at Kiritibati. All of these tests were underwater tests and were performed in shallow bays.
Due to financial and political reasons, as well as not having anything close to the Americans’ state-of-the-art computer facilities, British tests were less frequent and more risky. Due to the extensive access the UK always had to the data from US nuclear weapons tests, it never needed to test the actual nuclear device itself, but instead it concentrated on the nuclear effects on hardened components designed to resist anti-ballistic missile attacks on the weapons. The United Kingdom was the third main negotiator of the Partial Test Ban Treaty and signed it alongside the United States and the Soviet Union. In 1996 the United Kingdom signed and ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and effectively halted all nuclear testing.
The United Kingdom relies entirely on ballistic missile submarines for the delivery of its nuclear weapons. Having begun the development of its ballistic missile submarines in
1968, the initial class Resolution served until 1996. It was gradually replaced with the
Vanguard class, 4 of which were produced, carrying 16 missiles each, being the main delivery mechanism of the British nuclear arsenal.
Israel
Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons despite never having officially admitted to having nuclear weapons and instead having repeated that it would not be the country to introduce nuclear weapons to the Middle East. Israel is alleged to have developed its nuclear program in the 1960s but no official confirmation has been made as of yet. On
September 22, 1979; near the Prince Edward Islands off Antarctica, an American satellite detected a double flash of light, characteristic of a nuclear weapons test. The incident, which came to be known as the Vela Incident, was largely believed to be a result of the Israeli-South
African coordination on nuclear weapons development. No country has claimed responsibility for the incident as of yet. Israel signed and ratified the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963, which prevented it from testing nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, in the water or in outer space – potentially one of the reasons why it did not claim responsibility of the Vela Incident. In
1996, Israel became one of the signatories of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, but failed to ratify it. It has still not ratified the treaty nor has made clear any intentions to do so.
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
The DPRK began its nuclear testing in 2006 and is the only nation that continues nuclear weapons testing today. Having tested its nuclear warheads underground in 2006 and
2013, the DPRK continuously tests methods of delivery (i.e. ballistic missiles) without warheads in the Sea of China close to the Republic of Korea border. The DPRK is a nonsignatory of both the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-
Ban Treaty, and despite being pressured into nuclear disarmament talks in the early 2000s the
DPRK continues to actively develop and test its nuclear weapons.
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) is an international organization that will be established once the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban
Treaty enters into force after it undergoes full ratification. The Preparatory Commission of the

CTBTO was established in 1997. The Preparatory
Commission, which is responsible for the preparations for the effective implemention of the treaty, has set up the International Monitoring System (IMS) network, which will monitor the planet for signs of nuclear explosions from 337 facilities worldwide. Currently, 85% of the facilities are functional and the rest are under construction.
These facilities contain seismic monitoring stations for the land, hydroacoustic stations for the oceans, infrasound and radionuclide stations for the atmosphere. In 2006 and 2009, the
CTBTO’s International Monitoring System successfully detected North Korea’s nuclear tests, the existence of which would not have otherwise been made public to the international community.
III- Focused Overview of the Issue
The issue of preventing the expansion of nuclear weapons technology to the seas is one of the last remaining frontiers of the fight against nuclear proliferation. The seas, especially the international waters, have increasingly lost their neutrality due to the use of these areas for nuclear weapons testing and delivery. This, alongside the lack of international regulations governing the use of international waters for such military purposes, and the lack of limitations to a number of mobile ballistic missiles & nuclear warheads a country can have in its inventory, has largely led to the militarization of the waters.
The years that followed the response of the Soviet Union to the nuclear arsenal of the
United States saw the spread of new technologies of nuclear warhead delivery. First generation warheads were flown with planes and dropped over targets. Second generation warheads were fitted onto Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles and launched from land-based missile silos situated in the countries’ territories and also in their allies’ territories. The second placement caused increased tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States and lead to the Cuban Missile Crisis as the Soviet Union placed its missiles in Cuba as a response for the American missiles set up in Greece and Turkey. The tensions were deescalated through the removal of the said missiles, but they also left regions of both countries out of the reach of the nuclear arsenal of the other. For this reason, both countries started to depend on Ballistic Missile Submarines, which were stealthy and mobile. These allowed both countries to expand the reach of their nuclear arsenals to the regions they wanted anytime. The two countries were soon joined by others including the United
Kingdom, France and China; all of which wanted to enforce their nuclear deterrence policies through globalizing the reach of their nuclear arsenals.
Of course, the development of the said nuclear devices was a rather new industry that required a considerable amount of testing. Initially done on the ground in the United States, the fallout and radiation released by these test explosions forced the countries to find alternative solutions, one of which was the use of the seas for these tests. In the end, the sea became the home of everything nuclear – missile launchers, submarines, and tests. And due to the lack of technology to detect these submarines and tests in the years they were developed, it was impossible to monitor any possible regulations the United Nations would place on them. However, in the years that followed, new satellite technology made it possible to detect nuclear explosions, and now that regulations had become enforceable, two attempts were made. The PTBT and the CTBT were both ambitious treaties that failed to achieve their desired effects. The use of submarines, on the other hand, remained unregulated due to the fact that their stealth technology makes them impossible to detect unless they surface / return to port. Through the use of covered hangars, it is possible to operate nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines without ever being detected by the international community and its monitors.
1) Underwater Nuclear Weapons Testing

Initially started by the United States of America in Marshall Islands, underwater nuclear testing was intended to be a method of nuclear testing that would cause the least harm to the environment and to inhabitants of closer areas. In accordance with this notion, all nuclear weapons states effectively carried out most of their tests underwater. The United States carried out its tests at the Bikini, Eniwetok, Johnston,
Christmas and Pacific Islands, the Soviet
Union carried out its tests at the Novaya
Zemlya islands, the United Kingdom at the northern Australian coast, France at the
Mururoa and Fangataufa Islands of the
French Polynesia, and finally China at the
Lop Nor lake located in Western China.
However, it did not take long for these tests to prove harmful to the surroundings. The
Bikini Atoll where the US tested its
Figure 3 – A Map of Nuclear Tests Performed by Nuclear Weapons States weapons effectively became uninhabitable, and most of its residents who were told they were being “temporarily displaced” never saw their homes again. Naval vessels and fishing boats were affected by the explosions in the Pacific, and their crews and passengers died due to
Acute Radiation Syndrome, also known as radiation poisoning. In certain cases the explosions have caused mass destruction of marine life. Other tests saw the target water body being dried out due to the frequent explosions – for example, the Lop Nor lake in China, where tests were conducted, dried out; and the land under it was contaminated with radioactive fallout. The issue was successfully recognized in the 1960-70s and two attempts at prevention were made.
Despite both being ambitiously written and having received signatures from most nations, ratification was not successful and a full ban on underwater testing never entered into force.
Today, underwater testing is continued by several countries including but not limited to North
Korea, both as a means of developing nuclear technology and as a part of their nuclear deterrence strategy. These tests, which are largely administered in the region surrounding the
Korean Peninsula, are causing increased tensions between the two nations of Korea, presenting an important case example of why an effective ban on underwater nuclear testing needs to be banned as soon as possible.
Since the development of the first ballistic missile submarine by the Soviet Union through the modification of a Zulu class submarine in 1955, ballistic missile submarines have been produced and used by numerous nuclear weapons states. The United States developed the first underwater launch capable ICBM, the Polaris A1 , in
1960; and the Soviet Union followed in 1961 with its counterpart, the R-13 . The United Kingdom, France and
China joined them in the following years. Due to the impossibility of defending land-based nuclear launch facilities from bomber / missile attacks, all nations that used nuclear-armed ballistic missiles started to seek replacements for their missile silos. The ballistic missile
Figure 4 – An American Trident II SLBM being launched from a submerged submarine.

submarines were the final decision due to their mobility, stealth capability and range. This allowed nuclear weapons states to carry their nuclear warheads anywhere they wanted all over the globe and not face any political repercussions. They soon became the main part of the nuclear deterrence policies of all nations that possessed them. Today, close to 100 fully armed ballistic missile submarines roam international waters as part of the nuclear deterrence policies of the United
States, Russian Federation, United
Kingdom, France and China.
The reason why regulations governing ballistic missile submarines are required is that their stealth makes them impossible to monitor. This allows states to possibly act in violation of international treaties including but not limited to the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, The
Partial Test Ban Treaty, the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, and most importantly bilateral treaties like the New START treaty between the
United States and the Russian Federation Figure 5 – A Typhoon-class Ballistic Missile
Submarine of the Soviet Union, surfaced.
that include limitations to ballistic missile and nuclear warhead capacities. The presence of ballistic missile submarines also makes it possible for a nation to easily extend its nuclear range without having to develop stronger ballistic missiles, and reduce the time required to perform a nuclear strike on a given location by decreasing the distance that the missile will have to cover. Their presence is therefore a security risk unless they are regulated by international conventions and their numbers are specifically limited by inclusion in existing and upcoming bilateral treaties.
IV- Key Vocabulary
Nuclear device / atomic device / nuclear weapon: An explosive device whose destructive force comes from the nuclear reactions that are triggered at the time of detonation. Even a smaller nuclear device no larger than a conventional bomb can destroy an entire city by blast and radiation, which also causes widespread birth defects in later generations alongside the lethal Acute Radiation Syndrome which leads to the death of those exposed, unless treated.
Nonproliferation: The limitation of the production and spread of something, especially nuclear weapons.
Nuclear weapons tests: Experiments carried out to determine the yield and effectiveness of nuclear weapons. These were performed by most nuclear weapons states in the 20 th century and are widely discouraged. They were partially banned with the Partial Nuclear Test Ban
Treaty, and subsequently banned entirely with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty that has yet to enter into force.
Ballistic Missile: A missile/rocket that follows a ballistic flight path to deliver a warhead to a target. These missiles are maneuverable during brief periods in flight and are the preferred method of delivery for nuclear warheads.
Cruise Missile: A missile/rocket whose flight path is conducted approximately at constant velocity, that is, almost straightly towards the target. These missiles fly at supersonic missiles on non-ballistic, low-altitude trajectories.

Ballistic Missile Submarine: A submarine with the necessary equipment to launch SLBMs with nuclear warheads. They are the major delivery system for nuclear warheads for their mobility and stealth capabilities that made them the preferred weapon system of the Cold War due to their major deterrence capability. They are the backbone of most nuclear weapon states’ nuclear warhead delivery strategies.
ICBM: Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (i.e. a ballistic missile that can reach all continents / exceed 5,500km)
SLBM: Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile (i.e. a ballistic missile that can be launched from a mobile ballistic missile submarine)
V- Important Events & Chronology
Date
July 26, 1945
August 6, 1945
August 9, 1945
January 24, 1946
July 24, 1946
August 29, 1949
March 1, 1954
September 16, 1955
September 21, 1955
Event
The United States detonates the world’s first atomic device at the Trinity test site in New Mexico.
The United States drops an atomic bomb, the Little Boy , on
Hiroshima, killing an estimated 150,000 people and marking the first use of atomic weapons in warfare.
The United States drops a second atomic bomb, the Fat Man , on Nagasaki, killing more than 70,000 people and injuring thousands more, marking the last use of atomic weapons in warfare.
The United Nations General Assembly adopts its first resolution establishing an Atomic Energy Commission and calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons.
The United States detonates an atomic device, Crossroads
Baker , first time underwater in the Bikini Atoll during
Operation Crossroads.
The Soviet Union detonates its first atomic bomb, Joe 1 , in
Kazakhstan.
The United States carries out Castle Bravo underwater detonation test. Unintended fallout causes civilian casualties.
The Soviet Union launches the first SLBM from a modified submarine.
The Soviet Union detonates an atomic device, the Joe 17 ,

June 9, 1959
August 5, 1963 underwater for the first time in Novaya Zemlya.
The United States launches the USS George Washington , the first of its ballistic missile submarines.
The Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which bans underwater nuclear tests, is signed.
China detonates its first atomic bomb in a test code-named
596.
October 16, 1964
July 1, 1968
November 24, 1974
June 18, 1979
September 22, 1979
September 10, 1996
The Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) is signed.
The United States and the Soviet Union sign SALT I.
The United States and the Soviet Union sign SALT II.
The Vela Incident occurs.
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which bans nuclear tests altogether, is signed.
VI- Past Resolutions and Treaties
Partial Test Ban Treaty
The Partial Test Ban Treaty was signed on August 5, 1963 by the United States of
America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom and other signatories.
The treaty, originally intended to ban nuclear testing altogether, ended up covering atmospheric, underwater and outer space tests; but not underground ones. Despite being ratified by almost all signatories including the three major negotiator states, the Partial Test
Ban Treaty was not effective overall, due to two important reasons. The first reason was that other major nuclear weapons states like the People’s Republic of China and the French
Republic were non-signatories, and they carried on with their nuclear testing. Both countries performed all of their tests underwater, China in its lakes and France in the Pacific Ocean near French Polynesia. The second reason was that despite signing the treaty, the Soviet
Union and the United States also carried on with their testing, and despite the fact that officially all of their tests were underground, fallout released on the outside as well. The
Chagan Nuclear Test in the Soviet Union and the Baneberry Nuclear Test in the United States were two major incidents where the treaty was violated through the release of fallout into the atmosphere, onto populated areas.

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was signed on September 10, 1996 by the United Nations General Assembly. The treaty, benefitting from the relaxed relations after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, was signed by all major nuclear weapons states – the US, the UK, the Russian Federation, the PRC and France. Its provisions included imposing a ban over all nuclear explosions in all environments for both military and civilian purposes. The treaty, however, never entered into force due to the failures of the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China to ratify it. 12 years later, the ratification of the treaty was promised by the president-elect of the United States, Barack Obama, however no change to the ratification of the treaty has taken place as yet. The treaty, if it enters into force, promises an effectively restrictive solution to the problem at hand.
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is an international treaty with the objective of preventing the further spread of nuclear weapons technology. The NPT is built on three pillars: non-proliferation, disarmament and the right to peacefully use nuclear technology. It distinguishes between states as nuclear weapons states (NWS) and non-nuclear weapons states (NNWS). All three states that possessed nuclear weapons at the time the treaty was signed, which are the US, UK and the USSR, have signed and ratified the treaty. Other
NWS nations, such as France and China also acceded to the treaty. As of today, five nuclear weapon-possessing UN member nations are non-parties of the NPT: India, Israel, North
Korea, and Pakistan. The treaty prohibits NWSs from helping NNWSs to acquire nuclear weapons in terms of technological assistance or weapon sales. However, so far it has been rather ineffective in leading the NWSs to total nuclear disarmament. The clause regarding the issue only asks states to “negotiate disarmament treaties in good faith” and not necessarily sign one. The vagueness of this clause and the ineffectiveness of the disarmament pillar in general has caused some states to withdraw from or not sign in the first place the treaty, and to start developing their own nuclear arsenals. The treaty also takes no action related to nuclear testing.
VII- Failed Solution Attempts
The issue of underwater nuclear testing, or nuclear testing in general; was expected to be completely solved when the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed in 1969, and furthermore when the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was signed in 1996.
However, due to the fact that China, North Korea and France failed to sign the former and that the US, China and Israel failed to ratify the latter, the expected ban on nuclear testing was never completely achieved. Furthermore, having not signed either treaty, North Korea performed multiple nuclear tests in the 2000s, increasing international tensions regarding the issue. The United States, despite promises from past presidents and the incumbent, President
Obama; has not recently made any process about ratification, and China has shown no intent of completing the ratification. The treaty, unfortunately, cannot enter into force unless ratified by all signatories.
In terms of preventing the nuclear armament of the seas through ballistic missile submarines, no negotiations or progress of any other sort have been made. The limitations over the number of active nuclear warheads a state can possess are defined by different treaties, especially by the START treaties between the United States and the Soviet Union
(and its successor, the Russian Federation) that limits the number of deployed warheads to
1550. These limitations apply to ballistic missile submarines as well, however they are not specific enough to effectively prevent the spread of such armed submarines. Assuming each submarine can carry up to 12 ballistic missiles, a nation is allowed to possess a total of 130

fully armed ballistic missile submarines. However, only 10 strategically placed submarines are sufficient to effectively place the entire planet under the range of their nuclear arsenal. Therefore further limitations on the placement of nuclear warheads in the seas specifically, using ballistic missile submarines and underwater missile silos, are necessary.
VIII- Possible Solutions
Possible solutions to the issue of underwater nuclear testing have been discussed and negotiated multiple times since the 1960s. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was the culmination of these solution efforts, yet it failed to enter into force due to the lack of complete ratification. It is therefore necessary for the United Nations to seek solutions to the lack of ratification of this treaty, possibly in terms of amending the treaty, imposing sanctions on non-ratifying signatories, scrapping the treaty for a similar new one, or asking for the withdrawal of the signatures of countries that do not plan to ratify the treaty.
On the other hand, solutions to prevent the nuclear armament of the seas so far remain unexplored. Previous naval treaties allow any nation to possess as many naval vessels and weapons in international waters as they wish to. Limitations for nuclear warheads are specifically required as today many countries are in the process of expanding their nuclear weapons’ range through the use of nuclear submarines. Underwater missile silos also require monitoring due to the fact that they allow nations to build ballistic missile launch facilities without being detected by the international community through satellite imaging / aerial imaging / etc.
IX- Useful Links
The Royal Navy – Vanguard Submarines & Nuclear Deterrence
The CTBTO Preparatory Commission
The U.S. Navy – Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarines
The Smithsonian – Ballistic Missile Submarines in the Cold War
Wikipedia – Underwater Explosions
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