PREPARATORY COMMISSION OF TEST-BAN-TREATY ORGANIZATION CONCLUDES FIRST SESSION
Press Release
DCF/293
PREPARATORY COMMISSION OF TEST-BAN-TREATY ORGANIZATION CONCLUDES FIRST SESSION
19970318 (Reproduced as received; delayed in transmission.)GENEVA, 7 March (UN Information Service) -- The Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) completed its first session this afternoon after agreeing a programme of work and a budget of $27,458,327 for the remainder of 1997.
Concluding its work earlier than originally scheduled, the group approved a list of tasks to be carried out by its working group A on administrative and budgetary issues, and working group B on verification. According to the report of the session, the work programme for 1997 for working group B will provide for the establishment of a verification regime capable of meeting the requirements for entry into force of the CTBT. During 1997, the working group should develop technical specifications and requirements, plans, policies, guidelines, procedures and documentation on a number of issues related to the International Monitoring System (IMS), the International Data Centre (IDC), communications and on-site inspections.
The programme of work also provides that working group B should present to the next session of the Preparatory Commission, set for 12 to 16 May in Vienna, a proposal on how to provide expert and integrated technical advice on monitoring, data communications and analysis issues, and for technical supervision of the IMS and IDC implementation.
Verification work will be carried out both within working group B and the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) of the CTBTO, to be set up in Vienna later this month. Earlier in the session, the Preparatory Commission elected Wolfgang Hoffmann of Germany Executive Secretary of the PTS for two years.
The programme of work for working group A envisages the completion in 1997 of financial and staff regulations and the start of work on a budget for 1998, among other activities. The budget approved today includes funding for the next three preparatory sessions and for the start-up of the PTS.
The Preparatory Commission began its first session at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 20 to 22 November 1996, but due to a lack of
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time agreed to reconvene in Geneva from 3 to 11 March to continue work on certain agenda items.
At the meetings in New York, the Preparatory Commission adopted a Host Country Agreement with the Government of Austria and elected Jacob S. Selebi of South Africa Chairman for a six-month period. A new Chairman will be appointed in Vienna for the next period in accordance with an agreed system of rotation of that office among the six standard geographical regions. The following countries were elected in November to fill vice-chairmen's posts: Algeria, Argentina, Canada, Indonesia and the Russian Federation. The countries appointed to serve on the Credentials Committee are Costa Rica, Kenya, Marshall Islands, Nepal, Romania and Sweden.
The Preparatory Commission was established at the conclusion of a meeting of States signatories to the Treaty on 19 November in New York. Its task is to carry out preparations for effective implementation of the treaty and to prepare for the first session of the Conference of States Parties.
Although signed by 142 countries, all of which can participate in the work of the Preparatory Commission, the CTBT has been ratified to date by only one -- Fiji.
The Treaty was drafted at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and adopted by the General Assembly on 10 September 1996.
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