New York, September 23, 2005, Dharam Shourie (The Tribune)

Citing heightened global anxiety over nuclear weapons, United Nations Secretary, General Kofi Annan, today urged 11 countries, including India, Pakistan and the USA, to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

Expressing alarm that countries whose ratification was essential for the treaty to enter into force had still not acted, Mr Annan said the longer the pact was delayed, the greater the risk that someone, somewhere, would test nuclear weapons.

"The treaty was opened for signature nine years ago," he told the fourth conference on facilitating its entry into force." But after nine years, the treaty is still not in force. We should all be gravely concerned about that." he added.

It would be a major setback back to the cause of non-proliferation and disarmament if someone tests the nuclear weapons, he said, noting that although 176 states had signed it and 125 had ratified it, 11 of the 44 states who must ratify the treaty for it to enter into force, still had not done so.

States which had not done so included India, China, Colombia, North Korea, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, the USA and Vietnam

"I call on all the states that have not signed or ratified the treaty to do so without delay -- particularly those states who must ratify the treaty in order to bring it into force," the UN Secretary General said.

Pending its entry into force, he urged all states to maintain a moratorium on nuclear weapons test explosions or any other nuclear explosions, and to refrain from acts that would defeat the object or purpose of the treaty.

Mr Annan reiterated his oft-repeated disappointment of the "significant failure" of last week's UN World Summit to agree on moving forward on disarmament, non-proliferation, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy.