The President of the Conference
on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which began this
morning at the United Nations, is optimistic about
the future of the treaty, despite its unpopular status
with many nations.
Miguel
Marin Bosch of Mexico was elected President of the
CTBT this morning, saying "the CTBT is a symbol
of the end to the nuclear arms race."
Unfortunately, the treaty is not so well liked
around the globe, and has received much criticism
from the Bush administration in particular. In
fact, the United States preferred not to attend
the conference which continues through November
13.
Under the Clinton
administration the Nuclear-Test-Ban Treat was
signed. However, it failed to be ratified
in the Senate and in the Senate is where it remains
to this day. According to Bosch, there have been
rumors that the Bush administration is searching
for a way to "unsign the treaty."
In an interview this morning, Bosch said he was
not frustrated by the fact that ratification is
still needed by 44 countries, and countries such
as India, Pakistan and Korea still have not signed.
Currently, out of a total of 193 countries, 161
countries have signed the treaty, a total of 85
have ratified the treaty and 32 have not yet signed.
Bosch preferred
to discuss the major impact that the CTBT will
have in the future. "The CTBT
controls testing of nuclear devices," he said, " If
you can't test, you can't improve." He continued
to say that this would eventually lead to the end
of the nuclear arms race as we know it today.
Bosch believes
that one day the United States will support the
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. "If
you keep up the pressure, the U.S. will come around," he
said. In addition, Bosch spoke about the positive
impact the European Union will have if it puts
pressure on the United States.
Bosch justified
his optimism by saying that he has lived through
many events that were at first
deemed impossible. "I don't believe in Santa
Claus, but almost," he said.
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