Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

Adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10 September 1996

Albania 27 Sep 1996

Algeria 15 Oct 1996

Andorra 24 Sep 1996

Angola 27 Sep 1996

Antigua and Barbuda 16 Apr 1997

Argentina 24 Sep 1996 4 Dec 1998

Armenia 1 Oct 1996

Australia 24 Sep 1996 9 Jul 1998

Austria 24 Sep 1996 13 Mar 1998

Azerbaijan 28 Jul 1997 2 Feb 1999

Bahrain 24 Sep 1996

Bangladesh 24 Oct 1996

Belarus 24 Sep 1996

Belgium 24 Sep 1996

Benin 27 Sep 1996

Bolivia 24 Sep 1996

Bosnia and Herzegovina 24 Sep 1996

Brazil 24 Sep 1996 24 Jul 1998

Brunei Darussalam 22 Jan 1997

Bulgaria 24 Sep 1996

Burkina Faso 27 Sep 1996

Burundi 24 Sep 1996

Cambodia 26 Sep 1996

Canada 24 Sep 1996 18 Dec 1998

Cape Verde 1 Oct 1996

Chad 8 Oct 1996

Chile 24 Sep 1996

China 24 Sep 1996

Colombia 24 Sep 1996

Comoros 12 Dec 1996

Congo 11 Feb 1997

Cook Islands 5 Dec 1997

Costa Rica 24 Sep 1996

Côte d'Ivoire 25 Sep 1996

Croatia 24 Sep 1996

Cyprus 24 Sep 1996

Czech Republic 12 Nov 1996 11 Sep 1997

Democratic Republic
of the Congo 4 Oct 1996

Denmark 24 Sep 1996 21 Dec 1998

Djibouti 21 Oct 1996

Dominican Republic 3 Oct 1996

Ecuador 24 Sep 1996

Egypt 14 Oct 1996

El Salvador 24 Sep 1996 11 Sep 1998

Equatorial Guinea 9 Oct 1996

Estonia 20 Nov 1996

Ethiopia 25 Sep 1996

Fiji 24 Sep 1996 10 Oct 1996

Finland 24 Sep 1996 15 Jan 1999

France 24 Sep 1996 6 Apr 1998

Gabon 7 Oct 1996

Georgia 24 Sep 1996

Germany 24 Sep 1996 20 Aug 1998

Ghana 3 Oct 1996

Greece 24 Sep 1996

Grenada 10 Oct 1996 19 Aug 1998

Guinea 3 Oct 1996

Guinea-Bissau 11 Apr 1997

Haiti 24 Sep 1996

Holy See 24 Sep 1996

Honduras 25 Sep 1996

Hungary 25 Sep 1996

Iceland 24 Sep 1996

Indonesia 24 Sep 1996

Iran (Islamic
Republic of) 24 Sep 1996

Ireland 24 Sep 1996

Israel 25 Sep 1996

Italy 24 Sep 1996 1 Feb 1999

Jamaica 11 Nov 1996

Japan 24 Sep 1996 8 Jul 1997

Jordan 26 Sep 1996 25 Aug 1998

Kazakhstan 30 Sept 1996

Kenya 14 Nov 1996

Kuwait 24 Sep 1996

Kyrgyzstan 8 Oct 1996

Lao People's
Democratic
Republic 30 Jul 1997

Latvia 24 Sep 1996

Lesotho 30 Sep 1996

Liberia 1 Oct 1996

Liechtenstein 27 Sep 1996

Lithuania 7 Oct 1996

Luxembourg 24 Sep 1996

Madagascar 9 Oct 1996

Malawi 9 Oct 1996

Malaysia 23 Jul 1998

Maldives 1 Oct 1997

Mali 18 Feb 1997

Malta 24 Sep 1996

Marshall Islands 24 Sep 1996

Mauritania 24 Sep 1996

Mexico 24 Sep 1996

Micronesia (Federated
States of) 24 Sep 1996 25 Jul 1997

Monaco 1 Oct 1996 18 Dec 1998

Mongolia 1 Oct 1996 8 Aug 1997

Morocco 24 Sep 1996

Mozambique 26 Sep 1996

Myanmar 25 Nov 1996

Namibia 24 Sep 1996

Nepal 8 Oct 1996

Netherlands 2 24 Sep 1996 23 Mar 1999

New Zealand 27 Sep 1996 19 Mar 1999

Nicaragua 24 Sep 1996

Niger 3 Oct 1996

Norway 24 Sep 1996

Panama 24 Sep 1996 23 Mar 1999

Papua New Guinea 25 Sep 1996

Paraguay 25 Sep 1996

Peru 25 Sep 1996 12 Nov 1997

Philippines 24 Sep 1996

Poland 24 Sep 1996

Portugal 24 Sep 1996

Qatar 24 Sep 1996 3 Mar 1997

Republic of Korea 24 Sep 1996

Republic of Moldova 24 Sep 1997

Romania 24 Sep 1996

Russian Federation 24 Sep 1996

Saint Lucia 4 Oct 1996

Samoa 9 Oct 1996

San Marino 7 Oct 1996

Sao Tome
and Principe 26 Sep 1996

Senegal 26 Sep 1996

Seychelles 24 Sep 1996

Singapore 14 Jan 1999

Slovakia 30 Sep 1996 3 Mar 1998

Slovenia 24 Sep 1996

Solomon Islands 3 Oct 1996

South Africa 24 Sep 1996 30 Mar 1999

Spain 24 Sep 1996 31 Jul 1998

Sri Lanka 24 Oct 1996

Suriname 14 Jan 1997

Swaziland 24 Sep 1996

Sweden 24 Sep 1996 2 Dec 1998

Switzerland 24 Sep 1996

Tajikistan 7 Oct 1996 10 Jun 1998

Thailand 12 Nov 1996

the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia 29 Oct 1998

Togo 2 Oct 1996

Tunisia 16 Oct 1996

Turkey 24 Sep 1996

Turkmenistan 24 Sep 1996 20 Feb 1998

Uganda 7 Nov 1996

Ukraine 27 Sep 1996

United Arab Emirates 25 Sep 1996

United Kingdom of
Great Britain and
Northern Ireland 24 Sep 1996 6 Apr 1998

United States
of America 24 Sep 1996

Uruguay 24 Sep 1996

Uzbekistan 3 Oct 1996 29 May 1997

Vanuatu 24 Sep 1996

Venezuela 3 Oct 1996

Viet Nam 24 Sep 1996

Yemen 30 Sep 1996

Zambia 3 Dec 1996

Declarations and Reservations
(Unless otherwise indicated, the declarations and reservations were made upon ratification.)

china

Declarations made upon signature:

1. China has all along stood for the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons and the realization of a nuclear-weapon-free world. It is in favor of a comprehensive ban on nuclear weapon test explosions in the process towards this objective. China is deeply convinced that the CTBT will facilitate nuclear disarmament and nuclear nonproliferation. Therefore, China supports the conclusion, through negotiation, of a fair, reasonable and verifiable treaty with universal adherence and unlimited duration and is ready to take active measures to promote its ratification and entry into force.

2. Meanwhile, the Chinese Government solemnly makes the following appeals:

(1) Major nuclear weapon states should abandon their policy of nuclear deterrence. States with huge nuclear arsenals should continue to drastically reduce their nuclear stockpiles.

(2) All countries that have deployed nuclear weapons on foreign soil should withdraw all of them to their own land. All nuclear weapon states should undertake not to be the first to use nuclear weapons at any time and under any circumstances, commit themselves unconditionally to the non-use or threat of use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states or nuclear weapon-free zones, and conclude, at an early date, international legal instruments to this effect.

(3) All nuclear weapon states should pledge their support to proposals for the establishment of nuclear weapon-free zones, respect their status as such and undertake corresponding obligations.

(4) No country should develop or deploy space weapon systems or missile defense systems undermining strategic security and stability.

(5) An international convention on the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons should be concluded through negotiations.

3. The Chinese Government endorses the application of verification measures consistent with the provisions of the CTBT to ensure its faithful implementation and at the same time it firmly opposes the abuse of verification rights by any country, including the use of espionage or human intelligence, to infringe upon the sovereignty of China and impair its legitimate security interests in violation of universally recognized principles of international law.

4 In the present day world where huge nuclear arsenals and nuclear deterrence policy based on the first use of nuclear weapons still exist, the supreme national interests of China demand that it ensure the safety, reliability and effectiveness of its nuclear weapons before the goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons is achieved.

5. The Chinese Government and people are ready to continue to work together with governments and peoples of other countries for an early realization of the lofty goal of the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons.

germany

Declaration made upon signature:

It is the understanding of the German Government that nothing in this Treaty shall ever be interpreted or applied in such a way as to prejudice or prevent research into and development of controlled thermonuclear fusion and its economic use.

Holy See

Declarations upon signature:

"The Holy See is convinced that in the sphere of nuclear weapons, the banning of tests and of the further development of these weapons, disarmament and non-proliferation are closely linked and must be achieved as quickly as possible under effective international controls.

Furthermore, the Holy See understands that these are steps towards a general and total disarmament which the international community as a whole should accomplish without delay."

iran (islamic republic of) 1

Declarations upon signature:

"1. The Islamic Republic of Iran considers that the Treaty does not meet nuclear disarmament criteria as originally intended. We had not perceived a CTBT only as non-proliferation instrument. The Treaty must have terminated fully and comprehensive further development of nuclear weapons. However, the Treaty bans explosions, thus limiting such development only in certain aspects, while leaving others avenues wide open. We see no other way for the CTBT to be meaningful, however, unless it is considered as a step towards a phased program for nuclear disarmament with specific time frames through negotiations on a consecutive series of subsequent treaties.

2. On National Technical Means, based on the deliberation that took place on the issues in the relevant Ad Hoc Committee of the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, we interpret the text as according a complementary role to them and reiterate that they should be phased out with further development of the International Monitoring System. National Technical Means should not be interpreted to include information received from espionage and human intelligence.

3. The inclusion of Israel in the MESA grouping constitutes a politically-motivated aberration from UN practice and is thus objectionable. We express our strong reservation on the matter and believe that it will impede the implementation of the Treaty, as the confrontation of the States in this regional group would make it tremendously difficult for the Executive Council to form. The Conference of the States Parties would eventually be compelled to find a way to redress this problem."

Notes:

1 On 29 January 1997, the Secretary-General received from the Government of Israel the following communication with regard to the declaration contained in paragraph 3:

"Israel considers that Iran's declaration on this matter has no legal basis and is entirely motivated by political reasons extraneous to the CTBT.

The Iranian declaration attempts to undermine the implementation of the treaty and is incompatible with both the Treaty and its spirit, as well as with the U.N. Charter principle of sovereign equality of all states.

Israel, by geography, is part of the Middle-East region, and no objection will change this.

Israel calls upon other signatories of the CTBT to express their rejection of the Iranian reservation to Israel's inclusion in the MESA Geographic region, as well as the threat contained therein."

2 On behalf of the Kingdom in Europe, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.