COMPREHENSIVE
TEST BAN TREATY - INTERNATIONAL
News: Russia passes law to withdraw from
ratification of nuclear test ban treaty
What's
in the news?
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Russia’s parliament completed the passage
of a law withdrawing ratification of the global treaty banning nuclear weapons
tests, evidence of the deep chill in relations with the United States as Moscow
pursues its war in Ukraine.
Comprehensive
Test Ban Treaty (CTBT):
●
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
(CTBT) is the Treaty banning all nuclear explosions – everywhere, by everyone
in the atmosphere, underwater and underground.
●
The Treaty was negotiated at the
Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and adopted by the United Nations General
Assembly. It opened for signature on 24 September 1996.
●
It curbs the development of new nuclear
weapons and the improvement of existing nuclear weapon designs. When the Treaty
enters into force it provides a legally binding norm against nuclear testing.
●
The Treaty also helps prevent human
suffering and environmental damages caused by nuclear testing.
Treaty
still unenforceable:
●
Members: The CTBT has been signed by 187
countries and ratified by 178 but cannot go into force until eight countries
have signed and ratified it.
●
China, Egypt, Iran, and Israel have signed
but not ratified it. North Korea, India and Pakistan have not signed. While
Russia ratified the agreement in 2000, the US is still to do so.
Comprehensive
Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO):
●
It is an organization based in Vienna
which was founded in 1996.
●
The CTBTO’s main tasks are the promotion
of the Treaty and the build-up of the verification regime so that it is
operational when the Treaty enters into force.
●
CTBTO manages over 300 stations in 89
countries that have been built to monitor for signs of nuclear explosions
around the globe and round the clock.
●
The International Monitoring System (IMS)
of CTBTO monitors the Earth’s crust, atmosphere and the oceans to look for
traces of radioactivity.
●
It produces data that is useful in
applications like disaster early warning, scientific research on the Earth’s
inner structures, climate change or meteors.
Possible
Consequences of Russia's Withdrawal:
1.
Affects Global Disarmament:
●
It would be a big setback to the Nuclear
disarmament movement.
2.
Nuclear Arms Race:
●
The move would enable Russia to build and
deploy more nuclear weapons which would result in a dangerous arms race.
3.
Russia-Ukraine Crisis:
●
The present Russian decision has
aggravated the missile attacks against each other and escalated the crisis
further.
4.
Russia-West Relations:
●
The Russian decision wants to pressurize
the West by sending an ambiguous message strategically by putting all the blame
on the US, this will further erode Russia and West ties.
5.
Global Politics and Security:
●
Now, many countries like North Korea,
Pakistan, Turkey, Iran and China may go for further proliferation of nuclear
weapons without any scrutiny.
6.
Undermining Future Agreements:
●
If Russia revokes its ratification –
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, it will leave the world without a common
starting point for future efforts.
India’s
stance on the matter of Global Nuclear Disarmament:
1.
Complete Disarmament:
●
India has consistently advocated global
nuclear disarmament since the concept’s inception in the United Nations.
2.
Universal Non-discriminatory and verifiable Treaty:
●
India remains committed to negotiating a
universal, non-discriminatory and internationally and effectively verifiable
treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other
nuclear explosive devices.
3.
Delinking Disarmament and Non-Proliferation:
●
In 1965, India was a member of the
eighteen nation disarmament committee (ENDC) that advocated for delinking
disarmament and non-proliferation.
4.
India opposed the signing of the NPT (Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons) which it views as discriminatory
(dividing the world into Nukes haves and haves not).
5.
In 1988, India Proposed a Comprehensive Proposal for complete Universal disarmament (Rajiv Gandhi Action Plan) - to the
UN General Assembly Special Session on Disarmament.
Considering the present
pessimistic environment, the Russian revocation of the Comprehensive Nuclear
Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) may not seem shocking or startling. Still, it is
unfortunate for arms control efforts. In this regard, India supports the
commencement of negotiations on a comprehensive Nuclear Weapons Convention in
the Conference on Disarmament, which is the world’s single multilateral
disarmament negotiating forum working on the basis of consensus.