Vienna Chapter
Mr. Chairman,
On behalf of the Signatory States of the Group of 77 and China, I
would like to congratulate you on your Chairmanship of the 21st session of
the preparatory commission of the CTBTO. I am confident that your
outstanding diplomatic skills and broad experience will steer this session
to a successful conclusion.
The Group wishes to thank the Executive Secretary, Ambassador
Wolfgang Hoffmann, for his comprehensive written and oral reports and we
would like to express our appreciation for the diligent efforts of the PTS
in implementing the mandates of the Preparatory Commission for the
establishment of the verification system at the Entry Into Force of the
Treaty.
We are pleased to note that since the last Prep Com, Afghanistan and
Palau have signed and five other Member States of the G-77 and China,
namely, Algeria, Afghanistan, Honduras, Kyrgyztan and Oman, have ratified
the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). This is a clear
manifestation of support of G-77 and China to the Treaty. We would also
like to welcome the ratification of the Treaty by Cyprus, bringing the
total number of ratifications to 107.
The Group attaches great importance to the Treaty and in this regard
welcomes the outcome of the Article 14 Conference for facilitating of the
Entry Into Force (EIF) of the CTBT in September 2003 in Vienna. The Group
wishes to thank the efforts of H.E. Ambassador Grönberg of Finland
for convening the informal consultations and the PTS for the preparatory
works in this regard.
Mr. Chairman,
The G-77 and China attaches great importance to the objectives of
International Cooperation activities as stipulated in para 12 of article
IV of the Treaty, including facilitation of fullest possible exchange of
technologies relating to the verification system, capacity building in
different states and application of those technologies for peaceful
purposes. The Group believes that all the workshops in this regard should
continue to be guided in this direction. We welcome the efforts of the
International Cooperation Section of the PTS in this direction and take
note with appreciation of the preparations for the Workshop on CTBTO
International Cooperation for States from South-East Asia in Kuala Lumpur
from 9 to 11 December 2003. The Group would like to reiterate its the
support for the successful convening of such workshops in other
sub-regions.
Mr. Chairman,
We appreciate the activities undertaken by the PTS during 2002 in
implementation of the 7 Major Programmes. We would like to ask the PTS to
continue assisting in the promotion of cooperation among States
Signatories to facilitate the exchange of technologies used in the
verification of the Treaty. The Group believes that training courses of
the PTS are useful elements for the dissemination of information about
different technologies of the international monitoring system facilities
of the Treaty. Those activities should be further coordinated and should
involve wider representation.
Mr. Chairman,
As regards the programme and budget for 2004, we take note of the
fact that the proposed Budget for 2004 in document (CTBT/PTS/INF.629)
amounts to US$94 395 000, compared with $88 581 700 in 2003. We also take
note of the draft decisions on budgetary and financial issues to be
considered by the Prep-Com in CTBT/PTS/INF.630. The Group would like to
reiterate the views expressed in its previous statements, in particular
that any proposal for the verification related work programme and budget
elements for 2004 and thereafter, should be guided by the following main
principles, First: the actual prospect of the Entry Into Force of the
Treaty (EIF), Second: the capabilities of the Member States to pay their
assessed contributions, Third: the capability of the PTS to consolidate
the budget. In this regard the Group would like to emphasize the
Gentlemen's Agreement contained in the report of the nineteenth session of
the Prep Com, document CTBT/PC-19/1 para 33, approved by all members of
the Prep Com. Accordingly, the Group urges the PTS to continue adjusting
the pace of its work to the above mentioned Gentlemen's Agreement and
requests it to prioritize and reallocate its resources among Major
Programmes, under the principle of no overall programmatic increases. We
welcome and support the efforts of the PTS in the implementation of a
realistic approach towards the program and budget for 2004 by trying to
keep the 2004 budget at the same level of 2003, with no programmatic
increases over the 2003 funding level, or in PTS staffing levels. The
Group notes with appreciation that the PTS is going to absorb any
programme adjustments within the existing resources.
We acknowledge the efforts of the PTS to make further economies and
cost efficiencies by reprioritizing its activities and reallocating other
resources (for example, using more accurate inflation rate, increasing in
the laps rate, deferral of IDC hardware, postponement of some IMS training
activities, closure of the New York office, expanded use of information
technology and the integration of administrative systems, and streamlining
of its internal administration). However, as a matter of principle, we are
of the opinion that further savings could be made in Post Certification
Costs. We urge all states and the PTS to do their utmost efforts in the
process of negotiation and conclusion of the post certification agreements
to adhere to the cost efficiency principle and to ensure the reduction of
post certification costs to the lowest level possible, taking into account
the estimation of the PTS in document CTBT/PTS/INF.536 para 24 and the
already approved guidelines in the WGB (CTBT/WGB-19/1 para 15) and WGA
(CTBT/WGA-22/1 para 15).
In the view of the Group, action should be taken right away to
protect the Commission against currency fluctuations. We take note of the
three options proposed by the PTS in document CTBT/PTS/INF.629 and the
report of Advisory Group in this regard. Although a currency fluctuation
reserve, funded with voluntary contributions would be an ideal solution
for the G-77, the Group is cognizant of the difficulties which the PTS
would face in receiving enough resources in this option. We believe
therefore that the split appropriation and assessment system is another
viable option. The split currency assessment and appropriation system is
tried and tested in the IAEA since 1986. In our opinion the Prep Com
should give a clear mandate to the next Advisory Group and WGA to ensure
that the details of the application of this option, as well as its
budgetary implications, are fully discussed.
Mr. Chairman,
We would like to reaffirm our commitment, as stated at the Ninth
Session of the Commission in which we called upon all States Signatories "to
accord to the activities of the Commission, its officials and experts,
cooperation and assistance as may be necessary for the exercise of their
functions and the fulfillment of the Commission's purpose, in accordance
with the laws and regulations in force in their respective countries.
Mr. Chairman,
The Group wishes to express its appreciation for the excellent job
that Ambassador Wolfgang Hoffmann as Executive Secretary has done. Indeed
his diplomatic skills and able management capabilities were among the main
factors in the successful creation of this organization from scratch and
in the efficient functioning of the Provisional Technical Secretariat up
to this stage. So we are very pleased to support the extension of his
contract. As he regrettably will not continue in his functions beyond
mid-2005, we are ready to work with other Member States on the procedures
for the appointment of the new Executive Secretary. We propose that this
Prep Com gives a clear mandate to the WGA to come up with clear procedures
in this regard, including with due regard to equitable geographical
rotation.
The Group believes that the Human Resources issues in the PTS should
be treated in an open and transparent way, according to the existing staff
rules and regulations. Therefore, the Group strongly supports the
Commission's non-career policy, especially the seven-year limit on service
with the PTS, as outlined in its staff rules and regulations and the
administrative directive on recruitment, appointment, reappointment and
tenure. Equitable geographical representation and full consultation with
different regional groups and countries, as well as high level standards
of expertise, competence, integrity and experience shall be the main
criteria for appointment of the staff in the PTS.
On the issue of the seven year service limit, we take note of the
fact that the Executive Secretary has started to implement this limit
starting from March 1997, guided by the views of States Signatories as
contained in the report of the Twenty-Third Session of Working Group A
(CTBT/PC-20/1/Annex I), and accordingly, some staff members have been
officially informed that their appointments will not be extended beyond
the seven year service limit. Although it's the prerogative of the
Executive Secretary to make some exceptions to the service limit in
accordance with Administrative Directive No. 20 (Rev.2), in order to
retain essential expertise or memory in the PTS, this exception shall
occur in absolute minimum cases, in accordance with the Administrative
Directive No. 20 (Rev.2), and recent WGA reports. These exceptions shall
be reported to the Commission.
The Group would also like to express its deep gratitude to the
Directors of the PTS. We would like to especially thank Dr. Vladimir
Kriouthchenkov, Director of OSI and Dr. Rashad Kebeasy, Director of the
IDC, for their valuable contribution to the work of the PTS and wish them
all the best for their future jobs. We welcome the new process for
appointing the Directors. We take note of and support the recommendation
of the Executive Secretary on Appointment of Directors of the PTS from
2004 in CTBT/PTS/INF.631
Mr. Chairman,
At its Nineteenth Session, the Preparatory Commission adopted the
schedule of meetings for 2003 on the basis of a reduction to two of the
annual number of sessions of the Preparatory Commission and its subsidiary
bodies (CTBT/PC-19/1/Annex V). We welcome this decision and support the
tentative schedule of meetings of the Policy Making Organs in 2004 based
on the pattern of meetings in 2003, which has been prepared by the PTS and
reflected in document CTBT/PTS/INF.623/Rev.1.
Mr. Chairman
The Group believes that according to the resolution on the
establishment of the Prep Com, technical testing and provisional
operations, as necessary, pending the Entry Into Force (EIF) of the
Treaty, is a task of the Prep Com. The operation of IMS stations before
the EIF of the Treaty is provisional and testing in nature and only for
the purpose of evaluating the performance and data quality of IMS
stations. The Group welcomes the adoption of the guidelines for technical
testing and provisional operation of certified IMS stations, the GCI and
the IDC in the last Working Group B [CTBT/pc-19/1/AnnexII, para 13]. We
believe that the mode of operation of IMS certified station should be
determined exclusively in the light of actual needs of testing and
maintenance of the IMS network, and the legal and financial concerns of
State Signatories should be duly taken into account during the negotiation
of contracts for post certification activities. We welcome the decision of
Working Group B in its 21st session as stipulated in para 10-12 of
CTBT/WGB-21/1 on the proposed system-wide performance test. We are of the
view that this test should be carried out when the majority of the IMS
stations, especially certified stations, are in place and connected to the
IDC and after doing enough preparation for this wide scale test by the
PTS. The only purpose of this test is to evaluate the performance of the
whole system and nothing more. We take note of the fact that Working Group
B in its latest meeting (para 12 of CTBT/WGB-21/1) agreed that "the
schedule for the phases of wide scale testing as well as their duration
should be flexible". However, we believe that the test should be done
in a very limited timeframe, in accordance with document
CTBTO/PTS/INF/606.
The Group attaches great importance to the National Data Centers
(NDCs) and welcomes the establishment of a joint theme task of NDC in the
framework of Working Group B and supports the main objectives of this task
as articulated by its distinguished task leader in the report of last WGB.
We believe that the PTS should play a more active role in promoting the
NDCs of developing countries, especially in providing hardware and
software. The Group encourages wider participation of the developing
countries in IDC training courses.
The Group believes that all the elements of the verification regime
of the treaty including IMS, IDC and OSI are important and in this regard
attaches great importance to a balanced approach dealing with all those
elements. Due to the complexity of the OSI issues, active participation of
all members is important. We therefore urge all States Signatories to
actively participate in the OSI discussion. From our point of view the
elaboration of the draft OSI Operational Manual, based on the Initial
Draft Rolling Text (IDRT), remains a priority task for all members of the
Commission. We appreciate the efforts of the PTS in supporting the
elaboration of the draft On-Site Inspection (OSI) Operational Manual,
especially the contribution of the PTS in chapter 6 on inspection of
underground events, search logic, software checking, point of entry and
base camp activities. We ask for the continuation and increased
contribution of the PTS, based on the experience of workshops, tabletop
exercises and field experiments, to the discussion of draft OSI
Operational Manual.
From our point of view, adequate resources should be allocated to the
OSI major program in order to enable the necessary preparations for the
establishment of the OSI regime at Entry Into Force of the Treaty. We
would like to express our appreciation for the external evaluation of
major programme 4 and the report which has been prepared by the External
Evaluation Team. We note that the report of the team, CTBT/WGB-21/INF.5 of
5 June 2003, directed to Working Group B (WGB), contains many important
recommendations for further improving the functionality and effectiveness
of the OSI Major Programme in order to accelerate progress towards being
able to launch and conduct effective inspections upon Entry Into Force, so
we would like to ask the WGB to discuss and consider this report, as well
as the response of the PTS in this regard in full and with great care.
We take note with appreciation of the convening of the ninth OSI
Workshop, the third tabletop exercise on managed access in Snezhinsk,
Russian Federation, and the fourth Experimental Advanced Course for the
visual observation and survey sub-team in Paris. To ensure that the
lessons from operational activities are not lost, we welcome the
initiative of the PTS in starting to record them carefully in a special
database of OSI lessons learned.
In accordance with the provisions of the Treaty, and with the text on
the establishment of the Prep Com and due to the development in the work
of the PTS, we believe that adopting a Confidentiality Policy for the PTS
is a real and urgent need. The confidentiality policy should create a
strict and transparent regime for handling all data and information
available to the PTS. In this regard, we take note of the paper of the PTS
on its policies and procedures in handling sensitive information, in
document CTBT/PTS/INF.614. This document could be a basis for further
discussion. However, we believe that a comprehensive approach is necessary
for the confidentiality policy of the PTS. We believe that more time in
WGB discussions should be allocated to this important task.
Mr. Chairman,
The G-77 and China welcome the consideration by the Conference on
Article XIV, held in Vienna 3-5 September 2003, under the agenda item "Consideration
of specific measures to facilitate the Entry Into Force of the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban-Treaty", of the proposal presented by
Colombia to overcome the constitutional impediments that prevent it from
paying any contributions prior to the ratification of the Treaty. States
participating in the Conference expressed their interest in finding a
solution regarding the particular impediments of Colombia and suggested
that the issue should be discussed further in the context of the
Preparatory Commission and its subsidiary bodies, with the advice of the
Provisional Technical Secretariat.
Furthermore the Group welcomes with interest the consideration of
this agenda item by the 21st session of the Advisory Group, held in Vienna
22-26 September 2003, and by the 24th session of the Working Group A, held
from 29 September to 2 October, whose reports recommend to continue the
discussion of this item in the context of the Preparatory Commission.
The Group reiterates its support for the consideration of this matter
in the context of the Preparatory Commission, in order to achieve its
solution.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
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