Work on nuclear-test ban to continue in Conference in 1996.

Progress in negotiating a comprehensive test-ban treaty had been made at the Conference on Disarmament in 1995, and "strengthened determination" to resolve technical issues could bring those efforts to a successful conclusion no later than 1996, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali declared in his annual report (A/50/1).

On 22 September, the Geneva-based Conference - in ending its three-part annual session (27 January-7 April; 29 May-7 July; and 31 July-22 September) - approved some important changes to an already existing text, mostly relating to scope and the verification aspects of the treaty. That was made possible through the decisions of France, the United Kingdom and the United States to support a true zero yield treaty that would ban any nuclear-weapon-test explosion.

It also decided to re-establish the Ad Hoc Committee on a Nuclear Test Ban at its 1996 session, with a view to completing the negotiations as soon as possible and no later than 1996".

Nevertheless, Ad Hoc Committee Chairman Ludwik Dembinski of Poland on 21 September warned that unless the pace of negotiations increased, the Conference would be "hard-pressed" to meet that goal. A breakthrough must come soon on the scope of the treaty", he told the world's sole multilateral disarmament body.

During the session, the Ad Hoc Group of Scientific Experts to Consider International Cooperative Measures to Detect and Identify Seismic Events continued its work on measures to facilitate an international exchange of seismological data, which would be included in a protocol to the comprehensive test-ban treaty.

With regard to prohibition of production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices - the so-called "cut-off" convention - the Conference in March established a relevant ad hoc committee, but failed to appoint a Chairman.

There was also no agreement on establishing or re-establishing ad hoc committees on: cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament; prevention of nuclear war; prevention of an arms race in outer space; effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons; new types of weapons of mass destruction; radiological weapons; and transparency in armaments.

On membership expansion, the Conference decided on 21 September that 23 States - Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Finland, Iraq, Israel, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Korea, Senegal, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Ukraine, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe - would "all assume together membership of the Conference at the earliest possible date to be decided by the Conference".

In a closing statement on 22 September, Conference President Nacer Benjelloun-Touimi of Morocco expressed regret that the positive conclusion of the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), held from 17 April to 12 May in New York, had "not created the conditions needed for a balanced approach to resolving the persistent problems" of the Conference on Disarmament.

"It is clear that fundamental differences still exist regarding basic priorities, in particular, the question of nuclear disarmament and the issue of conventional weapons", he stated.

The 38-member Conference consists of five nuclear-weapon States (China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States), other militarily significant States, and neutral and non-aligned countries which form the "Group of 21". In 1995, 52 nonmember States participated in the Conference's work as observers.

Session highlights

There was no disagreement about an overall need for a ban on nuclear testing. Some provisions of the draft already commanded a "certain degree of consensus", the Conference reported. Other clauses, however, needed "more extensive negotiation".

"Through the forest of square brackets, the makings of a workable comprehensive test-ban treaty are now becoming available", the United Kingdom declared on 17 August, as it dropped reservations on scope and accepted a total ban on all nuclear explosions.

The United States reaffirmed its commitment to do everything to conclude the negotiations "as rapidly as possible".

India on 21 September said that the test-ban treaty and the "cut-off convention" would be meaningful if linked firmly to the total elimination of all nuclear weapons". Otherwise, they would be "narrow and futile exercises", aimed at controlling non-nuclear-weapon States and further strengthening the "discrimination inherent in the existing non-proliferation regimes", it stated.

Chile on 17 August observed that continued testing by the nuclear Powers sent a "message to non-nuclear-weapon States" that such weapons were to be considered legitimate and were "important symbols of power".