NEW YORK, 28 September 2021, (TON): The Security Council on Monday marked the 25th anniversary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, with calls for its entry into force and the elimination of nuclear weapons everywhere.

Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) pointed to its “near universal adherence”, with 185 signatures and 170 ratifications.

He said that the Treaty has created and sustained a norm against nuclear testing so powerful, that less than one dozen tests have been conducted since adoption, and only one country has violated it this millennium.

Before the adoption of the treaty in 1996, the average explosive yield of nuclear tests each year was equivalent to nearly 1,000 Hiroshima-sized bombs.

Mr. Floyd said “nuclear testing not only created geopolitical instability and supported the development of more powerful and deadly nuclear weapons, it also caused untold human suffering and environmental damage. Because of the CTBT, we have left this world far behind.”

In addition to its core mission, the Treaty includes a verification regime in the form of a global network, that provides useful data for civil and scientific purposes, including tsunami warning and climate change studies.

Established under the treaty, the International Monitoring System (IMS), provides round-the-clock, real-time monitoring of any explosive nuclear activities on Earth, and is now more than 90% complete, with over 300 stations certified.

Despite its 185 signatures, the Treaty is yet to enter into force, which would require ratification by eight countries (the US, China, Iran, Israel, Egypt, India, Pakistan and North Korea).