International cooperation
workshop opens in Jamaica

A workshop on CTBTO International Cooperation and National Implementation of the Treaty opened today in St. Ann, Jamaica. The workshop, hosted jointly by the Government of Jamaica and the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, brings together representatives from 17 States in the region, and builds upon the work of the Regional Workshop for CTBTO International Cooperation and National Implementation/Ratification Procedures held in Lima, Peru, in 2000. The opening session was attended by H.E. Delano Franklin, Minister of State of Jamaica, Mr Edmundo Vargas-Care?o, Secretary General of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL), Mr Carlos D?vila, Director of the Association of Caribbean States, and the Mayor of St. Ann, Jamaica. Also attending were Mr Wolfgang Hoffmann, Executive Secretary of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, and Ms Hannelore Hoppe, Chief, Weapons of Mass Destruction, United Nations. The workshop will provide an overview of the work of the Preparatory Commission and the technologies of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban (CTBT) global verification regime. This verification regime, which uses seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound and radionuclide monitoring technologies, must be operational when the Treaty enters into force. The workshop also aims to enhance understanding of the Treaty and to assess national implementation needs. Work will focus on the exchange of information and experiences in effective implementation of the CTBT in the Caribbean region, and will consider possible civil and scientific benefits of the CTBT technologies. Delegates will also explore ways and means to promote cooperation among States Signatories of the Caribbean in the verification technologies, including the possible establishment of regional data centres. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty bans all nuclear weapon test explosions in any environment. Drafted at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, and opened for signature on 24 September 1996, the Treaty must be ratified by 44 named States before it can enter into force.  *******************  The 97 States that have deposited their instruments of ratification of the CTBT are: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guyana, Holy See, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Latvia, Lao People?s Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Samoa, San Marino, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Venezuela.

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