Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)

• Context (IE): Russia might revoke its Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) ratification to achieve parity with the US, which has not yet ratified CTBT.
• The CTBT bans ALL nuclear explosions for military or peaceful purposes. It was signed by 187 countries and ratified by 178.
• The UNGA adopted CTBT in 1996, but it has not entered into force, as eight Annex 2 nations (China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel, Iran, Egypt, and the US) have not ratified the treaty.
• Annex 2 to the Treaty lists the 44 States (nuclear technology holder states) that must ratify the treaty for it to enter into force.
• The CTBT establishes the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), which ensures treaty implementation.

Signatories of CTBT Signed and ratified: France, the UK, Russia Signed but not ratified: China, the US, Israel Non-signatory: India, Pakistan, North Korea

Did the CTBT stop nuclear testing?

• Since the CTBT, ten nuclear tests have taken place. According to the UN:
  • India conducted two in 1998.
  • Pakistan also had two in 1998.
  • North Korea conducted tests in 2006, 2009, 2013, 2016 (twice) and 2017.
• 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.

History of CTBT

• The US conducted the world’s first successful nuclear weapons test in July 1945. Four years later, the Soviet Union tested their first nuclear weapon.
• These tests triggered an arms race between the two superpowers. Between 1945 and 1996, more than 2,000 nuclear tests were carried out.
• The radioactive fallout from those tests drew criticism from around the globe. As a result, several attempts were made to curb the explosive tests.

Limited Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (LTBT) (1963)

• It prohibited nuclear testing in the atmosphere, outer space, and underwater, but underground tests were still permitted.

Threshold Test Ban Treaty (TTBT) (1974)

• It was signed between the US and the Soviet Union.
• It established a nuclear threshold and prohibited them from conducting tests that exceed 150 kilotons.

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

• Geopolitical tensions eased after the end of the Cold War and the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
• The UN took advantage of the situation and adopted the CTBT in 1996.