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The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was adopted by the UN General Assembly and opened for signature in New York on 24 September 1996. It has not yet entered into force.
The key provisions of the Treaty are:
The Treaty will enter into force 180 days after it has been ratified by all of the 44 nuclear capable States listed in ‘Annex 2’ of the Treaty. These States possess nuclear power or research reactors. As of 18 June 2008, the CTBT has been signed by 178 States and ratified by 144 States, including 35 of the 44 required Annex 2 States. In the absence of entry into force, a moratorium on testing of nuclear weapons is in place.
New Zealand signed the Treaty on 27 September 1996 and ratified on 19 March 1999. We encourage all States that have not yet done so, particularly ‘Annex 2’ States, to sign and ratify the Treaty without delay.
New Zealand , through the National Radiation Laboratory (NRL) and the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS), has set up and is running seven monitoring facilities, including three offshore stations on Raoul Island, and the Chatham Islands. NRL has also been involved in establishing and maintaining monitoring stations in the Pacific.
New Zealand ’s involvement in the CTBT is covered by staff at the New Zealand Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Vienna.
