'More work' needed to amend partial test-ban treaty.

The two-week Amendment Conference of the States Parties to the 1963 Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and under Water--known as the partial test-ban Treaty--decided on 18 January that further work was needed before a proposed amendment converting it into a comprehensive test-ban Treaty could be adopted.

The Treaty prohibits any nuclear explosions--for weapon testing or any other purpose--in the atmosphere or beyond its limits, including outer space; or under water, including territorial waters or high seas; or in any other environment if such explosions cause radioactive debris. It does not cover underground tests.

It was reported (PTBT/CONF/5) that all five nuclear-weapon States conduct nuclear tests as part of their weapons programmes. Between 1963 and 1989, there were 1,271 internationally recorded tests.

By a vote of 74 in favour to 2 against (United Kingdom, United States), with 19 abstentions, the Conference called for its President, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Ali Alatas, to conduct further consultations on the Treaty and resume the work of the conference at "an appropriate time".

The "complex and complicated nature of certain aspects of a comprehensive test-ban treaty, especially those with regard to verification of compliance and possible sanctions against non-compliance", was acknowledged in the Conference's decision.

In his closing statement, Mr. Alatas said the Amendment Conference had contributed to advancing a comprehensive test ban by bringing together for the first time the parties to the Treaty to address obstacles to an agreement. There was, he said, a firm and continuing commitment to achieving a comprehensive test ban.

Amendment urged

since 1985

The Treaty, signed on 5 August 1963 by the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States--the Depositary Governments--entered into force on 10 October that same year. As of 1 November 1990, there were 117 parties to it. Two nuclear-weapon States--China and France--are among those that have acceded to it.

Amendment of the Treaty was formally proposed on 5 August 1988--the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Treaty's signing in Moscow--by Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, Sri Lanka, Venezuela and Yugoslavia, which since 1985 had urged the action through the sponsorship of General Assembly resolutions.

The amendment would add an additional article, providing for two protocols to be annexed to the Treaty. The first protocol would commit the parties to prohibit, prevent and not carry out any nuclear-test explosions, or any other nuclear explosions at any place under its jurisdiction. The second would provide detailed measures on verification.

Article II of the Treaty stipulates that the Depositary Governments must convene a conference to discuss an amendment, if at least one third of the States parties request it. Any amendment must be approved by a majority of all parties, including the Depositary States.

The States parties in March 1990 decided to hold the Conference in January 1991 after the United Kingdom, on behalf of the Depositary Governments, announced that the conditions of Article II had been met.

Varied views

In a message read on 7 January by a Soviet Union representative, President Mikhail Gorbachev confirmed his country's willngness to stop nuclear tests at any time if the United States did so, and expressed Soviet readiness to amend the Treaty to convert its limitations into a comprehensive test ban.

The United States on 10 January said that while a comprehensive test ban was its long-term goal, it still relied on a credible nuclear deterrent of which nuclear testing was a critical element.

The United Kingdom expressed the same view on 11 January, adding that a test ban would not necessarily prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, since it was possible to develop crude weapons without testing.

During a four-day general debate, many speakers said a comprehensive ban would help ensure non-proliferation of nuclear weapons as a first step towards total elimination. Citing the end of the cold war and improved international relations, some said the time was ripe for such a ban.

Others wanted the Conference on Disarmament to negotiate a total test ban, a measure that, they said, could not be viewed in isolation from the overall question of disarmament and arms control. Some believed that the extensive resources used to maintain nuclear-testing programmes could be used instead to address problems such as hunger, development and malnutrition.

Some States parties close to testing sites expressed concern over the adverse health effects resulting from underground tests. Members of the Permanent South Pacific Commission--Chief, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru--called for a total ban on nuclear testing in the Pacific basin and the prevention of pollution of the marine environment and its resources.