24 June 2016 - The Philippines participated in the 20th Anniversary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and Organization (CTBTO) Ministerial Meeting which was convened on June 13 back-to-back with the 46th Session of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission on June 14 to 15 at the Vienna Convention Center (VIC), Vienna.
The official Philippine delegation was headed by Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo with the participation of Philippine Ambassador to Vienna Maria Zeneida Angara Collinson, Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna; Mr. Sulpicio Confiado, Deputy Permanent Representative; Ms. Leilani S. Feliciano, First Secretary; Mr. Teofilo Garcia, Section Head, Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) and Mrs. Fatima Mueller, Attaché.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon delivered a video message congratulating the CTBTO on the 20th Anniversary of the Treaty and the accomplishments the organization has made. He specifically referred to the global verification regime comprising of two major CTBTO programmes, the International Monitoring Stations (IMS) and International Data Center (IDC), which proved effective and reliable by producing scientific data (seismic and radionuclide data) confirming the fourth nuclear test conducted by DPRK on January 06. UNSG Ban Ki-Moon underscored that urgent need for the CTBTO and States Signatories, politicians, interest groups and the youth to work collectively and urge the remaining Annex II states’ leaders to ratify and sign the Treaty at the soonest possible time.
The occasion provided an opportunity to take stock of the progress and accomplishment made towards the universality of the Treaty and the establishment of its global verification regime. During the Ministerial Meeting, the ministers and senior officials of CTBT States Signatories highlighted the significance of the Treaty for international peace and security and in particular for nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. They reaffirmed and reconfirmed their unwavering commitment to the Treaty and expressed their strong support for the work of the Commission.
Secretary Montejo delivered the Philippine statement recognizing 2016 as a significant milestone in the history of the Treaty as it marks the 20th Anniversary since it was opened up for signing in 1996. The Philippines recognized the critical role of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty as a key confidence-building measure to promote cooperation with other States in strengthening the global disarmament and non-proliferation regime stating that its early entry into force will give a critical boost to global efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
The Philippines expressed great concern that the Treaty has yet to come to force and thus urged the remaining eight Annex II States that have not yet signed nor ratified the Treaty to take urgent steps to do so at the earliestso that CTBTO can fulfill its mandate and functions effectively.
Moreover, Philippines has expressed its steadfast support for the the international community in condemning any violation of pertinent United Nations Security Council Resolutions and renewed the call on the DPRK to desist from continuing the conduct of nuclear tests and abandon all its nuclear weapons programs in the interest of regional and international peace and stability. The Philippines conveyed its strong commitment to maintaining international and regional peace and stability, promoting a nuclear weapon-free world and ensuring the country’s protection from the threat or use of weapons of mass destruction.
Finally, the Philippines commended the tremendous efforts of the Preparatory Commission for the CTBTO for the establishment of a comprehensive verification regime. The CTBTO’s International Monitoring System (IMS) and the International Data Center (IDC), in particular, have recently provided highly reliable data on the fourth nuclear test conducted by DPRK on January 06. The valuable scientific data and analysis prove the efficacy and reliability of CTBTO’s verification regime.
The closed session of the Ministerial Rountable Discussion was held in parallel to the plenary and was headed by H.E. Erlan Idrissov, Foreign Affairs Minister of Kazakhstan and Ms. Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission. The Ministers engaged in RTD discussion on how to further advance the entry into force of the Treaty and the following inter-related themes:
- Overcoming the challenges in obtaining the signatures/ratifications necessary for the entry into force of the CTBT
- Civil, scientific and security benefits of the Treaty and its verification regime
Secretary Montejo participated actively in the Ministerial RTD and delivered the Philippines’ intervention by stating that CTBT States Signatories must be unrelenting and vigorous in collective efforts to persuade Annex II States to sign and ratify the Treaty in order to uphold and strengthen the universality of the Treaty. The Philippines commended the CTBTO for achieving much progress in its task of establishing the monitoring and verification system in preparation for the Treaty’s entry into force. The Philippines acknowledged the challenges ahead to attain a very reliable 24/7 operation of a global network of monitoring stations.
Secretary Montejo informed the body that the Philippines is establishing an online nationwide network of environmental radiation monitoring stations that would complement the CTBTO IMS Stations in the monitoring of radionuclide releases that could affect the Philippines and the region.The Philippines has already established three (3) monitoring stations around the country and expects to establish a total of sixteen (16) monitoring stations in the very near future.
The 20th Anniversary of CTBTO Ministerial Meeting (with side events) was successfully convened on June 13 and was participated by 120 States (more than 40 of which were represented by Ministers and other high-level officials from UN, regional organizations, agencies and Heads of Permanent/Diplomatic Missions in Vienna. The Ministerial Meeting was also attended by seven (7) observer states and regional organizations, namely Cuba, the European Union, League of Arab States, Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, and Syrian Arab Republic, a Non-Signatory State. The following international organizations were also represented in said Meeting, namely: IAEA, the United Nations Office at Vienna (UN Vienna), UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO); UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), the Wassenar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies, and the OPEC Fund for International Development.
The Ministerial Meeting was presided by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania Mr. Lazar Comanescu. He was assisted by Mr. Bozorgmehr Ziaran of the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) and Secretary of the Commission on Working Group A and Mr. Yerzhan Birtan, Secretary on Working Group B and Advisory Group matters.
On the margins of the Ministerial Meeting, CTBTO organized several events including the Ministerial Roundtable Discussion, Tour of CTBTO facilities, the CTBT@20 Exhibition, a civil society panel discussion, meeting of the Group of Eminent Persons (GEM) and of the CTBT Youth Group, photo opportunity of the entire group and of the Lady Ambassadors headed by EU High Commissioner Mogherini. END
