Greenpeace Update on CTBT Negotiations
from the Conference on Disarmament

9th August 1996

Today's meeting of the ad hoc Committee ended without a clear decision on the future conduct of work. Meetings of the ad hoc Committee are scheduled for both Monday and Tuesday. It looks increasingly that India will veto the adoption of the report containing the draft CTBT text, but this still remains unclear.

There were two central documents on today's agenda: the draft 'technical' report of the Committee, and the Chairman's own statement. The former was not problematic as it was purely factual, the latter was highly problematic as it dealt with the core issues confronting the Committee.

The Chairman's statement was proposed for inclusion in the report of the Committee. This suggestion did not meet with approval. The statement addressed a number of the outstanding concerns of certain countries, but presented these as conclusions of the Chair, rather than as conclusions of the Committee. For example, the Chairman's statement indicated that 'I understand' that Security Council sanctions are not envisaged by article XIV(2) but did not say outright that such sanctions are excluded.

The Chairman also excluded changes to the most controversial parts of the treaty, despite the widely acknowledged concerns, on the basis that the draft text could not be changed without risking the treaty. But, in contradiction, he went on to stress that the on-site inspection vote requirement be modified in article IV, paragraph 46 to require "at least 30 affirmative votes".

Simon Carroll monitors the CTBT negotiations in Geneva for Greenpeace and may be contacted at:

Hotel des Nations -- phone +41 (22) 734.30.03, Room 303, fax: +41 (22) 734.38.84.

Mobile phone: +41 (77) 68.33.74.