German Foreign Minister reaffirms support for the CTBT
On 14 January 2016, Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo met German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Vienna, Austria. Referring to the announced nuclear test by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on 6 January 2016 as a wakeup call, he requested the Foreign Minister to join forces with other key supporters of the Treaty and take actions towards further advancing the international ban against nuclear testing. In this respect, Zerbo highlighted the importance of the twentieth anniversary of the Treaty and the planning for related high level events in 2016.
We need Germany’s unwavering dedication to make further progress towards the CTBT’s entry into force – not so much as a goal in itself, but because this will be the world’s first concrete step towards abolishing nuclear weapons altogether.
Foreign Minister Steinmeier reiterated the support of Germany for the Treaty and promised to contribute to efforts aimed at strengthening the Treaty and the work of the organisation.
The time is ripe for the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty to enter into force. On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the opening for signature of the CTBT, I call with renewed emphasis on the remaining Annex 2 States to sign and/or ratify this Treaty. The current plethora of armed conflicts only reaffirms the role that disarmament and non-proliferation need to play on the global agenda.
Germany supports the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) in many ways. The country is host to four certified International Monitoring System stations. In addition to being the third-largest contributor to the organisation’s regular budget, Germany has supported the build-up of the verification regime through six voluntary contributions adopted by the European Union, amounting to over 15 million euros. In addition, Germany physicist Joachim Schulze is chair of Working Group B, the Member States’ decision-making body on verification issues. See country profile for more information.