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The Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) celebrated the fifth anniversary of its establishment on March 17. Although the CTBT, opened for signature in September 1996, has yet to enter into force, the PTS has been working since 1997 to prepare and operate the comprehensive global verification system set out in the treaty. A CTBTO press release proudly announced on March 15:
"The Secretariat started work in Vienna...under the Executive Secretary, Mr. Wolfgang Hoffmann, with a handful of staff members. Five years later, the organisation has grown into a strong and confident international body with 271 staff members from 69 member states. ... In the course of the past five years, the Secretariat has achieved important progress in the establishment of the global network of 321 monitoring stations and 16 laboratories located in some 90 countries. More than 200 IMS [International Monitoring System] site surveys have been conducted, and by the end of February 2002, installations at 122 stations had been completed. Some 87 stations and/or National Data Centres are connected through a satellite communications network, the Global Communications Infrastructure (GCI), to the International Data Centre [IDC] here in Vienna. ... By the eve of the Secretariat's anniversary, the Treaty has attracted 165 signatures and 90 ratifications. This is a clear indication of the importance that the international community attaches to the Treaty's role, not only in bringing an end to a period that witnessed over 2,000 nuclear test explosions worldwide, but also for its contribution to nuclear disarmament and to the enhancement of international peace and security."
On April 11, Hoffmann told reporters of his concern that Iran had submitted no data to the PTS since January. Although Iran has not yet ratified the CTBT, it had previously been supplying regular data to voluntarily confirm it was not engaging in any activity prohibited by the treaty. Hoffmann conceded: "This worries us. We are talking to the Iranians, and the Iranians have told us that their parliament has raised questions about the legal obligations of Iran in connection with sending data... The government is working with parliament to clear this question. So I hope that they will start sending data again." On April 14, Pirouz Hosseini, Iran's Permanent Representative to the UN on Vienna, was reported by the Islamic Republic News Agency in Tehran as denying that any decision to stop sending data had been taken. The same day, CTBTO spokesperson Daniela Roskonova told reporters: "We were told by the Iranian authorities that the Iranian parliament started to ask itself whether it was a legal obligation to forward the data before the CTBT entered into force. We are not informed about any political reason for this decision." Roskonova added: "Should anything take place in Iran, we would know it immediately. We have stations elsewhere which can monitor Iran."
It is possible that the Iranian parliament is reacting in part to the decision taken by the United States in August 2001 not to participate in or provide funds to the CTBTO's on-site inspection programme. There are also reports China has stopped provided regular and complete data submissions, allegedly out of anger at Washington's stance on a range of arms control issues and treaty obligations.
Reports:China, Iran said balking at test ban pact cooperation, Reuters, March 7; Provisional Technical Secretariat - five years old, CTBTO Press Release (http://www.ctbto.org), March 15; CTBT - progress mixed on Organisation's five-year anniversary, Global Security Newswire, March 22; UN nuclear test ban group expresses concern about lack of data from Iran, Associated Press, April 11; Iran denies report of non-cooperation, Global Security Newswire, April 15.
© 2002 The Acronym Institute.