EU Statement – UN General Assembly: High-level plenary meeting on International Day against Nuclear Tests

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 and San Marino align themselves with this statement.

President,

2. Nuclear test explosions represent a serious danger to international peace and security. The cessation of all nuclear weapon test explosions and all other nuclear explosions is an effective measure of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in all its aspects. 

    

3. The importance of these overarching objectives is today more acute than ever, as we face heightened global security risks. The breakdown of international law is evident in several crises facing the world. The EU condemns in the strongest possible terms Russia’s actions, its nuclear rhetoric and its threats to use nuclear force in its illegal, unjustified and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine, which are irresponsible, provocative, dangerous and escalatory. 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. We remain firmly committed to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine, grounded in international law and the principles of the UN Charter, and fully respecting Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. 

4. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) 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 enshrined in UN Security Council Resolution 2310 and the annual General Assembly resolutions relating to the CTBT. Since its opening for signature 30 years ago, the CTBT has served to limit nuclear testing in an unprecedented way, complementing the NPT and serving as a strong confidence and security building measure.

5. 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. The unprecedented decision by the Russian Federation, contrary to its NPT and other commitments, to revoke its ratification of the CTBT, represents a serious step back in the global efforts to universalise and enforce the CTBT, which we strongly condemn. In the meantime, we call upon all States to fully observe the existing moratorium on nuclear-weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosion and refrain from any action contrary to the object and purpose of the Treaty. We take note of statements expressing concerns about possible nuclear weapons explosive testing. These statements have to be considered with the greatest care and seriousness.

6. We warmly welcome the ratification of CTBT by Tonga, which completes the universalisation of the Treaty across the Pacific region and brings the total number of ratifications at 179.

7. Following DPRK's six nuclear tests, the CTBTO demonstrated its invaluable role in quickly providing reliable and independent data due to a truly global, monitoring system for nuclear explosions. This enabled the international community to respond appropriately and swiftly. 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 and to abandon its existing programmes for nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and other weapons of mass destruction, in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner, as required by UN Security Council resolutions.  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 denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. Any further nuclear test by the DPRK 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. 

8. The EU reiterates its full confidence in the CTBT's verification regime and looks forward to the completion of the International Monitoring System (IMS). The completion and sustainment of IMS through adequate funding remains a priority, even in the context of a zero nominal growth budget, as it is crucial to maintain the network and ensure high data availability. This is a collective investment on an effective verification system able to deter non-compliance with the Treaty. 

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 sense, the EU financially supports the CTBTO's verification regime and integrated capacity building activities in developing countries. Since 2006, the voluntary contributions of the EU amounted to more than 36 million EURO. The EU also continues to support the Technical Experts Support Programme (TESP), the CTBTO Mentoring Programme for Early Career Women in STEM and the CTBTO Youth Group.

President,

10. As we mark this year the 30th anniversary of the opening for signature of the CTBT, we welcome the high-level events convened under the auspices of the Provisional Technical Secretariat in New York and Vienna and the ministerial meeting organised by the Friends of the CTBT in the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York this September. These are important manifestations that contribute to the efforts towards our common goal – a world free of nuclear tests.

Thank you.

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