GREENPEACE WELCOMES IMMEDIATE RESUMPTION OF CTBT NEGOTIATIONS

GENEVA 23 January, 1996

Greenpeace today welcomed the decision to immediately resume the negotiations on a nuclear test-ban treaty (CTBT) with the utmost priority taken today at the first meeting in 1996 of the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament.

"This is exactly the start to the Conference's work which is needed, if a test-ban treaty is to be finished this year," said Greenpeace's Simon Carroll. "The decision sends a strong signal that the international community wants to achieve a treaty as soon as possible which will end nuclear testing for all time."

In order to further reinforce this commitment, Greenpeace again called upon China and France to cancel their remaining nuclear tests and for China and Russia to formally commit themselves to the so-called "zero option" - a treaty which would ban all nuclear explosions.

Contact:

Simon Carroll, Greenpeace International in Geneva: +4122-734- 3003

Josh Handler, Greenpeace International in DC: +1202-319-2516

Blair Palese, Greenpeace Communications: +44171-833-0600

Editor's Note:

The treaty is still being negotiated. There are a number of issues of importance that need to be resolved, including:

1. Preamble: A commitment to nuclear disarmament and reference to specific steps which lead to the elimination of nuclear weapons should be contained in the preamble.

2. Scope: The treaty must ban nuclear explosions of any size, no matter how small, for any purpose. China and Russia have not formally committed to a zero-yield treaty in the Geneva negotiations as yet. In addition, China is seeking to exclude so-called "peaceful nuclear explosions" from the treaty.

3. Verification: The treaty needs to include a package of methods to ensure compliance with its provisions. An essential element of the package is on-site inspection.

4. Entry Into Force of the CTBT: There should be no barrier to achieving rapid entry into force of the treaty, following its signature in 1996.