The UN Security Council on Friday called for the enactment of a treaty to ban nuclear weapons testing, specifically calling on eight states with nuclear capabilities to join without further delay.
Advertisement
Friday’ s resolution came after the DPRK conducted its fifth nuclear test earlier this month.
All five countries have refrained from conducting nuclear weapons tests since 1996.
Open for signature on September 24, 1996, the legally binding CTBT is a multi-lateral treaty by which states agree to ban all nuclear explosions.
With 14 votes in favour and one abstention (Egypt), the resolution welcomed progress made towards universalization of the Treaty, noting that 183 States have signed the Treaty and 166 States have deposited their instruments of ratification.
“Today, this morning, is an affirmation of our willingness to make that clear, to give that answer, to take a step that says we will not lose our commitment, we will remain committed to moving in the direction of ending the threat of nuclear war”, Kerry said.
It does not impose any legal obligations but adds political weight to the push for the treaty to be enacted.
China supports the UN Security Council to make further reaction to DPRK’s latest nuclear test, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said as he met with U.S. President Barack Obama in NY on Monday.
“Our affirmative vote here is a sign of our unwavering commitment to a safer world in which nuclear technology is used exclusively for peaceful purposes and the risk of nuclear conflict is no more”, US Secretary of State John Kerry.
“Over the past 20 years, nuclear test ban has become a common understanding of the global community”, said Liu Jieyi, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, after the council voted on the resolution.
UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russian Federation said Moscow hoped the next president of the United States would be “more strident in his desire to ratify it”.
“Rather than strengthening this regime, the resolution squanders the opportunity to emphasize the urgency to advance nuclear disarmament”, he told the council.
Some Republican senators also have threatened to prevent the authorization of about US$32 million a year that the United States contributes to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation, about a quarter of its budget.
Advertisement
United Nations urges US, China to ratify N-test ban treaty was posted in World of TheNews International – https://www.thenews.com.pk on September 24, 2016 and was last updated on September 24, 2016.
