EU Statement at 61st session of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, as delivered on 13-15 November 2023

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EU Statement at 61st session of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, as delivered on 13-15 November 2023

13.11.2023 Press and information team of the Delegation to UN and OSCE in Vienna

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. The following countries align themselves with this statement:North Macedonia^*, Montenegro^*, Albania^*, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina^*, Georgia, Iceland⁺, Liechtenstein⁺, Norway⁺, Andorra and San Marino.

Mr Chairman,

We thank the Executive Secretary for his comprehensive reports, and express our support for the recommendations contained in the reports of Working Groups A and B, as well as of the Advisory Group. We also wish to express our appreciation to you Mr Chairman for your efforts and productive work in steering the Commission and for convening informal consultations prior to this Session.

The entry into force of the CTBT remains a priority for the EU. We urge all States that have not yet done so, to sign and ratify the CTBT. We also consistently call upon the remaining Annex 2 States who still need to sign and ratify the Treaty in order to bring it into force, to do so without any preconditions or further delay. In the meantime, it is crucial for international peace and security that all States fully observe the moratorium on nuclear test explosions or any other nuclear explosions, and refrain from any action contrary to the object and purpose of the Treaty. In this regard, we call on all States to continue to honour their engagements.

The EU deeply deplores the unprecedented decision of Russia to revoke its ratification of the CTBT. This unjustifiable decision constitutes a serious setback in Russia's commitment towards the international security architecture that undermines the ongoing non-proliferation and disarmament efforts. This latest measure by Russia, a State Party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), is also a severe step back on Russia's undertaking to promote the CTBT at the highest political level and through all available bilateral and multilateral channels. This is made all the worse by Russia's status as a Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council. The EU calls on Russia to continue to respect the purpose and the objective of the Treaty. We also reiterate our call on Russia to maintain the integrity of the International Monitoring System (IMS) and data availability through the verification regime.

We warmly welcome the latest ratification of the CTBT by Sri Lanka and the latest signature by Somalia and fully support the Executive Secretary and his team's efforts for achieving additional ratifications of the Treaty. In this regard, we welcome the adoption of the Final Declaration during the thirteenth Article XIV Ministerial Conference that took place on 22 September, in New York, under the Co-Presidency of Norway and Panama, whom we thank for their valuable work.

The EU and its Member States also actively participated in the First NPT 11^th Review Conference Preparatory Committee session, taking place in Vienna from 31^st July to 11^th August, which presented another occasion to reaffirm States Signatories' support to the CTBT and its entry into force.

Mr Chairman,

The current security environment is marked by Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, increased tensions and continuing proliferation crises. Russia must immediately cease its aggression, unconditionally withdraw all forces and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine and fully respect Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.

The EU urges the DPRK to cease its unlawful and destabilising actions that undermine regional and international peace and security and instead engage in dialogue with relevant partners. The DPRK must comply with its obligations under relevant UN Security Council resolutions to refrain from testing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Any nuclear test must be met with a swift, united, and robust international response.

The DPRK cannot and will never have the status of a nuclear weapon State in accordance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). We urge the DPRK to abandon its existing nuclear weapons programmes as well as programmes to build delivery systems and other weapons of mass destruction in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner as required by UN Security Council resolutions. We urge the DPRK to sign and ratify the CTBT without any preconditions or further delay. We also call on the DPRK to return to compliance with the NPT and its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA, and to sign and ratify an Additional Protocol thereto. It is critical that sanctions, which target the DPRK's unlawful weapons development, remain in place while its programmes exist. The EU calls on all UN Member States to ensure the full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions to prevent the DPRK from procuring materials, knowledge and finance that support its illegal weapons programmes. The EU stands ready to support any meaningful diplomatic process and is committed to working with all relevant partners to build a basis for sustainable peace and security and take steps aimed at pursuing complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Mr Chairman,

In line with the recommendation made by WGA, we are ready to support the Final Draft of the 2024-2025 Programme and Budget Proposals. We note in that regard that the Regular Budget of the Commission should, as a rule, adequately address its programmatic needs and therefore regret that some key elements remain unfunded. We hope that some of these will receive the necessary funding, as an extraordinary measure, from the 2020-2021 cash surplus, as supported by the Advisory Group. We thank the Chairperson of WGA for his consultations on this matter and can accept the compromise solution contained in the revised Draft Decision, which presents a balanced approach. We hope that we will be able to reach consensus, which is the best way to secure the financing for all the key elements identified in the proposal.

We encourage the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) to continue to ensure its mandatory functions, notably the sustainment and maintenance of the verification system, through adequate and predictable funding. We look forward to discussing this pertinent matter further, with a view of identifying a sustainable way forward, as regards re-basing of the budget from 2026 onwards.

Moreover, it is crucial for the wider Organisation's financial health, that all States demonstrate their political commitment and honour their legal obligations by paying their assessed contributions on time and in full, as well as any arrears due to the Organisation.

The Council of the EU adopted its Ninth Council Decision on 25 September, providing a further € 6.28 million in support of CTBTO monitoring and verification activities. In a period of great financial constraints, this amount was notably kept equivalent to the previous EU Council decision. The EU has so far contributed over € 29.5 million in extra-budgetary contributions to the CTBTO. This reflects the strong commitment of the EU and its Member States to the Treaty and to its implementation.

The EU welcomes the sustained efforts within the CTBTO towards gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls, including towards equal representation within its staff and towards promotion of the participation of women in capacity building programmes through dedicated financing. Present and past EU Council decisions directly support these goals.

Mr Chairman,

Furthering On-Site Inspection (OSI) capabilities is essential for the establishment of a balanced and robust verification regime at the time of the CTBT's entry into force. In this regard, we welcome the organisation of regular OSI exercises. The EU and its Member States have been one of the largest contributors to the OSI technologies capacity building consistently providing significant financial contributions to support the OSI capabilities build-up and the CTBT's verification regime. The Integrated Field Exercise 2025, to take place in Sri Lanka more than 10 years after the one hosted in Jordan, will be a major milestone for the activities of the OSI division and the credibility of the future verification regime.

Temporary mobile noble gas background measurements are essential to enable analyses that lead to a further understanding of the global radionuclide background, and to facilitate the correct categorization of events. This on-going activity is part of, and helps carry out the mandate of the PTS.

Mr Chairman,

We look forward to the appointments of the new Chair and Vice-Chairs of the Commission for the next year, as well as to the appointment of the new Chair and Vice-Chairs of Working Group A, and the re-appointment of the Chair of Working Group B. We regret that, once again, no nomination has been submitted on behalf of the Middle East and South Asia Regional Group, and invite all regional groups to submit nominations.

We take note of the nominations put forward for membership of the Advisory Group, and give our support to the nominations of: Mr Rousseau by France, Mr Konrad Max Scharinger by Germany, Mr Terrill W. Ray by the United States, Ms Yuko Mizuno by Japan, Ms Rashmi Rajyaguru by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Mr Yoonseok Lee by the Republic of Korea and Mr Ramon Egli by Austria. We are not yet in a position to address a nomination that was not provided within the timeframe set out in the relevant procedures. Should the Commission be unable to reach a consensus, we support the postponement of this issue to a resumed session of the PrepCom.

With regard to the Appointment of the External Auditor for the period 2024-2025, we regret the absence of further nominations, and given the absence of consensus, we support the postponement of this issue to a resumed session of the PrepCom, and call for new applications with a view to appoint the External Auditor no later than the end of March 2024.

In conclusion Mr Chairman,

We assure you of the EU's full support and cooperation in bringing this meeting to a successful completion, and stress that the Report of this Session should be concise and factual, focusing on operative outcomes.

Thank you.

*Candidate Countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

+Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are members of the EFTA and of the European Economic Area.