Issue 22: August 2014

In the 22nd issue of Spectrum, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour of Jordan describes his country’s longstanding support for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). In particular, he explains the significance of Jordan’s decision to host the Integrated Field Exercise 2014 (IFE14) at the end of the year and its importance for peace and stability in the Middle East. This huge logistical undertaking will be the largest, most realistic and challenging on-site inspection simulation ever conducted by the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). It will involve a thorough search of a clearly defined inspection area to determine whether or not a nuclear explosion has been conducted.

On 11 April 2014, the Group of Eminent Persons (GEM) released a joint statement outlining a number of strategic approaches and modes of action designed to promote the CTBT’s entry into force. This group of global leaders and internationally recognized experts in the field of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament was established at the United Nations headquarters in New York on 26 September 2013 at the initiative of CTBTO Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo.  The GEM statement was issued at the end of a two-day meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, which was hosted by Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt.

Northern Utah Director with the U.S. Senate, Ryan Wilcox, opposed his country’s ratification of the CTBT in 1999. However, he argues that there is now a strong case to justify ratification. He concludes that such a move will ensure “that we can both preserve our nuclear deterrent, and prevent further proliferation both at home and by enemies abroad.”  As one of the eight remaining States that must still ratify the CTBT before it can enter into force, U.S. ratification would be a highly significant move.

Also in this issue, U.S. author and journalist William Lambers provides an analysis on the prospects of ratification of the Treaty by the United States, while Pakistani journalist Rizwan Asghar explores the option of the CTBT’s provisional application and lists some of the many benefits that Pakistan would reap by joining the Treaty.

CTBTO staff members Georgios Haralabus, Lucie Pautet, Jerry Stanley and Mario Zampolli, provide readers with a unique insight into the technical and logistical challenges encountered during the reconstruction of the CTBTO’s hydroacoustic station HA03.  Located on Robinson Crusoe Island in Chile’s Juan Fernandez Archipelago, this remote station is fully operational again after its destruction by a tsunami in 2010.

In addition to listening for underwater sounds generated by nuclear explosions, scientist Mark Prior explains how hydroacoustic technology can increase the understanding of different “soundscapes’ in the underwater world. These ‘soundscapes’ include noises produced by whales, breaking ice, earthquakes and volcanoes.

As the starting date of the organization’s largest ever integrated field exercise approaches, CTBTO staff members Gordon MacLeod and Matjaz Prah compare the elements and techniques for the upcoming exercise in Jordan with those employed in the last full-scale on-site inspection simulation, IFE08, which took place in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, in 2008.

Finally, the paintings by Doug Waterfield from the University of Nebraska at Kearney, USA, on the cover and inside Spectrum 22 illustrate the power of art in educating and communicating political messages. The paintings are part of the artist’s ‘Doomtown’ series, which were on display at the Vienna International Centre in an exhibition to mark the International Day against Nuclear Tests on 29 August.