Guinea ratifies nuclear ban treaty

Guinea has become the 155th State to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Tibor Tóth, the Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), hailed the ratification as “a step that further consolidates Africa’s dedication to end nuclear testing and acts as a powerful beacon for the rest of the world.” Last year’s entry into force of the Pelindaba Treaty established a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Africa, effectively making the entire southern hemisphere free of nuclear weapons.

Guinea signed the CTBT on 3 October 1996, just a few days after it opened for signature. Guinea has shown its support for the Treaty by regularly voting in favour of the CTBT in the United Nations General Assembly.

Adherence to the Treaty is almost universal, with 182 States having signed the Treaty to date; 155 of them, including Guinea, have also ratified. Guinea is the second African State to ratify the Treaty this year after Ghana’s ratification on 15 June 2011. In Africa, only two countries have yet to sign the CTBT – Mauritius and Somalia – whereas 11 countries have yet to ratify: Angola, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Republic of), Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, the Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.

Among these, ratification by Egypt is mandatory for the Treaty to enter into force. Ratifications by eight other nuclear technology holder countries are also outstanding and necessary for entry into force: China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Pakistan and the United States.

The CTBT bans all nuclear explosions everywhere, by everyone. The CTBTO is building an International Monitoring System (IMS) to make sure that no nuclear explosion goes undetected. There are currently over 280 facilities in 85 countries including 30 in 22 African States. The data registered by the IMS can also be used for disaster mitigation such as earthquake monitoring, tsunami warning, and the tracking of the levels and dispersal of radioactivity from nuclear accidents.

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Posted by AfricaSTI on September 18, 2011. Filed under Headlines, Lead Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry