Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is an international agreement aimed at prohibiting all nuclear weapons testing. Opened for signature on September 10, 1996, the treaty seeks to halt supercritical nuclear tests while allowing nations with existing test data to continue developing and refining their nuclear arsenals. Although signed by seventy-four nations, the treaty has not yet come into force, as it requires ratification from forty-four specific countries with nuclear reactor capabilities. These include key states such as the United States, China, and India, many of which have expressed national security concerns in their hesitance to ratify.
Historically, over two thousand nuclear tests have been conducted since 1945, with the United States and the Soviet Union accounting for the majority. The CTBT builds on earlier agreements like the Partial Test Ban Treaty and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but it is distinct in its comprehensive aim to end all forms of nuclear testing. A verification regime is proposed within the treaty, including international monitoring and on-site inspections, though its effectiveness is contingent on broader compliance. Despite its noble objectives, the CTBT is often viewed as lacking in universal disarmament intentions, reflecting the complexities and tensions surrounding global nuclear governance.
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Subject Terms
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)
THE TREATY: International agreement banning nuclear weapons testing
DATE: Opened for signature on September 10, 1996
Although not in force, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty serves as an international voice against nuclear testing. The treaty seeks to end all supercritical weapons tests without inhibiting the continued development and refinement of nuclear weapons by those nations that already possess test data.
From 1945 to 2023, more than two thousand nuclear weapons test explosions have been conducted—most by the United States (1,030), followed by the Soviet Union (715), France (210), the United Kingdom (45), China (45), India (3), Pakistan (2), and North Korea (6). The Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963 and the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 banned atmospheric and space-based tests, but France and China continued atmospheric testing until 1974 and 1976, respectively. Despite the provisions of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968, Pakistani and North Korean tests are reported to have originated in Chinese fuel and designs. The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) between the United States and the Soviet Union limited and reduced the numbers of strategic nuclear warheads held by the two nations, but not their thousands of tactical nuclear weapons.
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, also known as the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, or CTBT, would require nations to agree not to conduct supercritical nuclear tests, to allow their territory to be used for such tests, or to encourage other nations to conduct such tests. A global verification regime would have four elements: an international system, a consultation and clarification process for suspected violations, on-site inspections, and confidence-building measures. The treaty was signed by seventy-four nations and passed by United Nations General Assembly resolution in September, 1996, but it cannot go into force until 180 days after ratification by the forty-four nations possessing nuclear reactors. Egypt, North Korea, India, Iran, Israel, Indonesia, Pakistan, China, and the United States have all cited supreme national security compulsions in declining to sign or ratify the treaty.
The CTBT is seen as devoid of intent toward universal nuclear disarmament. Its timing coincided with the advent of ACI Red, the U.S. Department of Energy’s teraFLOPS computer developed to simulate numerically the physical processes in a nuclear explosion reliably enough to predict weapon performance using the large test database. China and France completed several tests in 1992-1996 before signing the CTBT, and France set off twelve thermonuclear tests in the pristine islands of the South Pacific Mururoa and Fangataufa atolls in 1996. Although not in force, the CTBT serves as an international voice against nuclear testing. Since 2006, only North Korea has carried out nuclear testing.
Bibliography
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"The Nuclear Testing Tally." Arms Control Association, August 2023, www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/nucleartesttally. Accessed 16 July 2024.
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