Mr. Co-President,
The Philippine delegation would like to express our appreciation to the Co-Presidents for your outstanding work in preparation for the 13th Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
My delegation remains fully committed to actively participating in the CTBTO, which has been consistently achieving consensus in its work, particularly in the various Working Groups and during the 60th Session of its Preparatory Commission held this year.
Regrettably, not all international forums on disarmament enjoy the same status. Our community in the CTBTO is special, and apart from full participation in all of the CTBTO’s scientific and verification-related functions and programs, it is this spirit of consensus that we would want the remaining Annex 2 States to fully share and benefit from.
My delegation joins other delegations in strongly calling on all remaining Annex 2 States to sign and ratify the CTBT unconditionally and expeditiously. As we convene at this 13th Article XIV Conference, my delegation underscores the importance of progress towards this crucial endeavor and we express our unwavering support for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) as manifested through the following:
- The Philippines co-sponsored resolutions on the CTBT in the 75th, 76th, and 77th sessions of the United Nations General Assembly, urging ratification of the CTBT by all states, particularly Annex 2 States;
- The Philippines supported the resolution on “Cooperation between the United Nations and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test- Ban Treaty Organization” at the 75th and 77th sessions of the General Assembly, reaffirming our commitment to collaborative efforts in achieving the CTBT’s objectives;
- The Philippines hosts and maintains three (3) stations of the International Monitoring System (IMS), and actively participates in and champions the CTBTO’s various programs and initiatives; and
- In various disarmament forums, the Philippines continues to emphasize the importance and urgency of CTBT’s entry into force, call on the remaining Annex 2 States to ratify the Treaty, and stress the need for universal ratification.
These are just some of the Philippines’ consistent contributions that, when combined with similar efforts of other States Signatories’, pose a compelling question: After 27 years of operating provisionally, how much longer must we wait?
Co-Presidents,
Today, we welcome the 187 countries that have signed and the 178 countries that have ratified the Treaty. The aspiration for universal adherence holds special significance for all states, particularly the Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) which have a vital role in nuclear disarmament.
My delegation extends its appreciation to the CTBTO Provisional Technical Secretariat, CTBT States Signatories, Friends of the CTBT, and other multilateral mechanisms including those within the UN, for undertaking actions that are supportive of ratification of the Treaty.
We acknowledge and appreciate the leadership of Norway and Panama in this Conference, and recognize the ratification of the Treaty by Comoros, Cuba, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Sao Tome and Principe, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, and most recently, Sri Lanka, as well as the signing of the Treaty two weeks ago by Somalia, bringing us closer to the CTBT’s universalization.
For the past few weeks, our delegations in Vienna labored to achieve a Final Declaration for this Conference – a text that was finalized after almost 40 long hours of negotiations. This process reflects the growing complexity of our international landscape, yet gives us hope that despite all the uncertainty, we can still achieve consensus on the most challenging issues.
We must maintain this positive momentum as we collectively strive for complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization in a peaceful manner.
The Philippines stands united with the global community to achieve the noble objectives set forth by this Treaty.
Thank you.