The 2003 Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive nuclear Test Ban Treaty is scheduled to begin tomorrow in Vienna, according to a CTBT Organization release (see GSN, Aug. 13).

The conference, scheduled to be held through Friday, is expected to “renew global awareness of the treaty and encourage states who have not already done so to sign or ratify it,” the organization said.  Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja is expected to be chosen as conference president, according to the release.  The conference is also expected to receive a progress report by Mexico on cooperation among countries to facilitate the treaty’s entry into force as well as discussions between treaty signatories and ratifiers.

Article XIV of the treaty allows parties to convene a formal conference on ways to help the treaty take effect.  To date, 168 countries have signed the CTBT and 104 have ratified it, but 44 specific countries are required to ratify the pact before it can enter into force and only 32 have done so.  This week’s conference is the third conference to be held since the treaty was opened for signature in 1996 (see GSN, Nov.14, 2001; CTBT Organization release, Aug. 29).

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