Morocco's early ratification of nuclear treaty, proof of good-will, says fm

Morocco was among the first countries to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), administering the proof of its good will to implement its principles and objectives, said here Sunday Moroccan minister of foreign affairs and cooperation, Mohamed Benaissa.

Addressing the 2nd conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the CTBT, the head of the Moroccan diplomacy stressed that Morocco adheres to the principle of total destruction of massive destruction weapons, particularly nuclear weapons and renewed support to the declaration of the 1st conference held in 1999 in Vienna.

Morocco urges all countries, who have not yet done it, to join parties to the treaty and deems that the complete ban of nuclear tests is essential for international security, said Benaissa who deplored that the treaty required 50 years of work and negotiations but remains, five years after it was opened for signatures, ineffective.

The Conference will decide, by consensus, what measures can be taken to accelerate the Treaty's ratification process.

The Treaty requires ratification by a specific group of 44 States believed to possess nuclear research and power reactors, including 31 which have ratified the Treaty.

The CTBT commits States parties not to carry out any nuclear-weapon-test explosion or any other nuclear explosion in any environment, and to prohibit, prevent, and refrain from, in any way, participating in the carrying out of such explosion. The Treaty also provides for a complex global verification regime, and measures to ensure compliance and redress a situation contravening it.

Benaissa said despite an increase in the number of states that had signed and ratified the treaty, its entry into force still depended upon ratification by 2 States. Each year that passed hampered efforts to halt nuclear proliferation, he said. Indefinite deferral encouraged nuclear proliferation and increasing sophistication of weapons of mass destruction.

"The events that shocked the world two months ago demonstrated the need to strengthen multilateral approaches to international security and disarmament," he continued. Unilateral moratoria declared by nuclear-weapon States were commendable gestures, but could never take the place of formal accession to the Treaty by means of ratification.

Morocco had been among the first to sign and ratify the CTBT. As a country that had ratified, Morocco was hard at work in implementing the verification measures called for in the Treaty, thereby showing its total support for the principles of the CTBT.

As concerned the Conference, Benaissa hoped that it would adopt by consensus measures that could overcome obstacles to the Treaty's entry into force. Those measures could include strengthening of cooperation among states and intensification of consultation among all states concerned. Efforts by the CTBTO, the Secretary-General and civil society could also help to build momentum for entry into force. Collective political will and solidarity must be demonstrated to confront the challenges that threatened the world.