Barbados ratifies the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

Vienna, Austria, 15 January 2008 -

Barbados signed and ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) on 14 January 2008. This brings the total number of Treaty signatures to 178 and the total number of Treaty ratifications to 142.

The adherence to the CTBT is almost universal. To enter into force, however, the Treaty must be signed and ratified by the 44 States listed in Annex 2 to the Treaty. These States participated in the negotiations of the Treaty in 1996 and possessed nuclear power or research reactors at the time. Thirty-four of these States have ratified the Treaty, including the three nuclear weapon States France, Russian Federation and the United Kingdom. The ten remaining States are China, Colombia, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, Pakistan and the United States of America.

The CTBT bans all nuclear explosions on Earth. A verification regime is being built to monitor compliance with the Treaty. 337 facilities world-wide will monitor the underground, the oceans and the atmosphere for any sign of a nuclear explosion. Today, nearly 220 facilities send data to the International Data Center at the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization in Vienna.