EU Statement – UN General Assembly: High-Level Meeting on International Day against Nuclear Tests

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EU Statement - UN General Assembly: High-Level Meeting on International Day against Nuclear Tests

04.09.2024 Press and information team of the Delegation to the UN in New York

4 September 2024, New York - European Union Statement delivered by Mr. Steen HANSEN, Minister Counsellor, Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations, at the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly High-level Meeting of the General Assembly to commemorate and promote the International Day against Nuclear Tests

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1. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries North Macedonia^*, Montenegro^*, Albania^*, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina^*and Georgia, as well as Andorra, Monaco and San Marino align themselves with this statement.

President,

2. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty is one of the key pillars of the international disarmament and non-proliferation architecture contributing to global peace and security. The Treaty's strong legitimacy and vital importance for our collective security is pointed out in UN Security Council Resolution 2310 and the annual UN General Assembly resolutions relating to the CTBT.

3. The CTBT's entry into force remains a priority for the European Union. This High-level meeting provides another opportunity to call for the Treaty's prompt entry into force and universalisation. All EU Member States have ratified the Treaty and consistently call upon all States that have not yet done so - in particular the remaining Annex 2 States - to sign and ratify the CTBT without any preconditions or further delay. We continue to deeply deplore the unprecedented decision by the Russian Federation, contrary to its NPT and other commitments, to revoke its ratification of the CTBT. In the meantime, it is crucial for international peace and security that all States fully observe the moratorium on nuclear test explosions or any other nuclear explosions, and refrain from any action contrary to the object and purpose of the Treaty. In this regard, we call on all States to continue to honour their engagements.

4. We warmly welcome the latest ratification of the CTBT by Papua New Guinea, in March 2024 bringing the total number of ratifications to 178.

President,

5. The current security environment is marked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, increased tensions and continuing proliferation crises. Russia must immediately and unconditionally withdraw all its forces and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine and fully respect Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence within its internationally recognised borders.

6. The EU urges the DPRK to comply with its obligations under relevant UN Security Council resolutions to refrain from testing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. We urge the DPRK to abandon its existing nuclear weapons programmes as well as programmes to build delivery systems and other weapons of mass destruction in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner as required by UN Security Council resolutions. Any nuclear test must be met with a swift, united, and robust international response. We urge the DPRK to sign and ratify the CTBT without any preconditions or further delay. The EU stands ready to support any meaningful diplomatic process and is committed to working with all relevant partners to build a basis for sustainable peace and security and take steps aimed at pursuing complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

7. Following the DPRK's previous six nuclear tests, the CTBTO demonstrated its invaluable role in quickly providing reliable and independent data, enabling the international community to respond appropriately and swiftly. The CTBTO has provided the world with a truly global, hi-tech monitoring system for nuclear explosions - something that no single country could do.

8. The EU reiterates its confidence in the CTBT's verification regime and looks forward to the completion of the International Monitoring System (IMS). We recognise its deterrence effect against non-compliance with the Treaty and its ability to respond to threats to international peace and security.Ensuring the sustainability and effectiveness of the verification regime, through adequate funding, remains crucial.

9. In addition to the CTBT's obvious contribution to international peace and security, the EU advocates fully exploiting the potential benefits of civil and scientific applications of IMS data. In this regard, the EU financially supports the CTBTO's verification regime and integrated capacity building activitiesin developing countries. Since 2006, the EU has provided the CTBTO with voluntary contributions of more than 29.5 million Euro, and will continue to do so.

10. Finally, we recall that the EU is a supporter of 10 actions on the UN Secretary General's Agenda for Disarmament, including on promoting the entry into force of the CTBT. In this regard, we praise the efforts of the Article XIV co-ordinators, Norway and Panama, and welcome the continuous efforts of the Group of Friends of the CTBT towards entry-into-force and universality. The EU will continue to use every opportunity to call for the CTBT's prompt entry into forcein all relevant international fora and in meetings with the countries that have not yet signed or ratified the Treaty, notably the remaining Annex 2 States.

I thank you, President.

*North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.