By Julien de Troullioud de Lanversin, Christopher Fichtlscherer, March 7, 2024
In the past, countries used full-yield nuclear tests to verify the performance of their nuclear warheads, develop new warhead designs, expand their grasp of nuclear weapon physics, and even explore so-called peaceful uses of nuclear explosions. (The yield of a nuclear explosion refers to the energy that is released by fission of the fissile material in the nuclear weapon.) These tests were initially conducted in the atmosphere, the ocean, and space, but mounting concerns about radioactive contamination of the environment forced countries to conduct testing underground after the Partial Test Ban Treaty entered into force in 1963. Three decades later, negotiations were convened in Geneva on a treaty that would ban all types of nuclear weapon tests. In 1996, the UN General Assembly adopted the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), now ratified by 177 countries.
Because several required states have not ratified the treaty (including the United States, China, and now also Russia, which withdrew its ratification in 2023), it has not yet entered into force. According to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, however, states must follow the provisions of treaties they have signed (Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969). Since 1998, all nuclear powers except North Korea have observed a moratorium on nuclear weapon tests. Headquartered in Vienna, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization is responsible for verifying the implementation of this moratorium and preparing for the future entry into force of the treaty by supervising the International Monitoring System, a global network of monitoring stations and laboratories aimed at detecting nuclear explosions, including those conducted underground.
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Keywords: Nuclear arms control; CTBT; subcritical tests; nuclear weapon tests; confidence-building measures
Topics: Nuclear Risk, Nuclear Weapons
