Secretary-General Says Universal Ratification Essential to Freeing Future Generations from Shadow of Destruction, at Ministerial Meeting on Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

Following is the text of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s video message for the Ministerial Meeting on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, in Vienna today:

I am pleased to greet everyone at this important gathering on the critical Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

When I attended the Treaty’s twentieth anniversary commemoration in Vienna, I said this milestone is a sober reminder that we must bring the Treaty into force.  We have to end the toxic legacy of nuclear testing.  We have to free future generations from the shadow of weapons that can destroy all life.

As foreign ministers and senior officials, you must generate the political momentum needed to make the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty a legally binding reality.  I also appeal to the world’s youth to raise their voices and demand action.  States that have yet to ratify should be leaders, not followers — especially States whose ratification is needed for entry into force.  They must act now.

Twenty years is too long.  The United Nations will keep pressing to end nuclear tests and help fulfil the promise of a nuclear-weapon-free future.