Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Co-Presidents Sweden and Philippines, Executive Secretary Robert Floyd, Excellencies, distinguished delegates.
New Zealand is honoured to once again participate in the Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). We thank the former co-presidents, Panama and Norway, for their leadership and tireless efforts in advancing the Treaty’s objectives, and welcome the commitment and energy of the current co-presidents Sweden and Philippines in taking our work forward.
New Zealand reaffirms its unwavering support for the CTBT and recognises it as a crucial piece of the international disarmament and non-proliferation architecture. Its long-overdue entry into force is a key step in achieving a nuclear-weapon free world – an enduring goal of New Zealand’s foreign policy. Amid rising geopolitical tensions, renewed nuclear rhetoric, and the regrettable de-ratification of the Treaty by the Russian Federation, the CTBT’s normative value and verification regime are more important than ever.
In this vein we remain deeply concerned with the DPRK’s persistent efforts to advance its illegal nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, which pose unacceptable threats to regional and global security. The DPRK must refrain from any further nuclear tests, return to diplomacy, and ultimately take credible steps toward the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
New Zealand welcomes the progress made since the last Article XIV Conference towards universalisation of the Treaty, including the Treaty’s ratification by Papua New Guinea. We strongly urge all states, particularly the remaining nine Annex 2 states, to become
party to the CTBT.
We commend the CTBTO for its continued work in maintaining and strengthening the three pillars of the Treaty’s verification regime. In particular we welcome efforts made towards the completion of the International Monitoring System (IMS), which continues to demonstrate its value not only in detecting nuclear tests but also in contributing to broader scientific and civil applications. The IMS remains at the heart of the CTBTO and indeed the Treaty itself, and it is incumbent upon states to protect the significant capital investment made in the System over the past decades so that it remains fit for purpose now and in the future.
Finally, New Zealand calls for the widest support among member states for the General Assembly’s resolution on the CTBT. This resolution will be tabled at the forthcoming session and recognises the Treaty as a fundamental instrument in the pursuit of nuclear
disarmament and non-proliferation.
The CTBT’s entry into force would be a powerful reaffirmation of our collective commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons. New Zealand stands ready to work with all partners to ensure that the Treaty becomes a binding reality.
Thank you.