Mr. President,

Let me on behalf of my Delegation first of all congratulate you upon your election as the President of the Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, We are confident that under your guidance, this Conference will achieve its objectives. I assure you of our cooperation and support.

Mr. President,

Nigeria is firmly committed to non-proliferation regime. We continue to strongly pursue the goal of general and complete disarmament. As far back as the early 1960s, Nigeria was in the forefront of the opposition to the nuclear proliferation, and took a principled stand on nuclear tests in Africa. Nigeria's early ratification of NPT and the African Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty (The Pelindaba Treaty) is testimony to that long-standing commitment to the building of a nuclear weapon free world.

Mr. President,

The CTBT constitutes the major pillar sustaining the nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime of NIT. Its provisions envisage pragmatic and concrete measures aimed at attaining a nuclear-weapon-free-world, which is of great importance to the entire world and us. The NPT Review Conference in 2,000 recognized in Article VI that the CTBT was the practical step towards nuclear disarmament and moratorium on nuclear testing. We commend, therefore, the development of the global verification regime to monitor compliance with the Treaty. In particular, we welcome the emerging profile of the international cooperation program as a vehicle for promoting the importance of the Treaty. We commend its supporting role in advancing the establishment of an international monitoring system, consultation and clarification, and on site inspections, as well as confidence-building measures. It is, in this regard, that we welcome the decision of the CTBTO to organize a Workshop to facilitate the implementation of the CTBT for countries in the West and Central Africa sub-region in Dakar, Senegal, this month. Nigeria supports this initiative and will participate in the Workshop, accordingly.

Mr. President,

As may be recalled, the world longed for relief from the threat of nuclear war and mass annihilation of life generated by the rivalry between States possessing nuclear capabilities. This search for Nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament which began, in earnest, with the formation of the United Nations reached its glorious moment with the negotiation and adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban-Treaty (CTBT) in 1996. The number of delegations here attests to the universal recognition of the Treaty as a veritable mechanism for the prohibition of nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion.

As an earnest of Nigeria's commitment to the non-proliferation regime, President Olusegun Obasanjo personally signed the CTBT while in New York to attend the United Nations Millennium Summit last year. The process of ratification has since been concluded by our National Assembly and I am delighted to inform you that Nigeria is one of the 12 countries from the African region that have ratified the treaty. This is consistent with our well-known policy towards nuclear disarmament, and attestation of our commitment to the treaty. Nigeria believes that the Treaty provides a credible framework for securing the world from threat of nuclear weapons. Accordingly, Nigeria is prepared to cooperate with the Provisional Technical Secretariat to achieve the early entry into force of the Treaty.

Mr. President,

My delegation believes this Conference offers a unique opportunity for States Signatories, non-States Signatories and Ratifers to re-invigorate the Treaty through practical commitments. We note the difficulties some delegations, especially those from the developing world, face in their attempt to sign or ratify the Treaty or even participate in the activities of the Treaty. However, for those 44 states mentioned in Annex 2, whose ratification is required for the entry into force of the Treaty, my delegation would like to urge them to make efforts to sign or ratify the Treaty as soon as possible. On her part, Nigeria shall continue to support any initiative that will facilitate the early entry into force of the Treaty.

Mr. President,

At the end of this Conference, we hope that our collective decision would contribute to the ongoing efforts to facilitate this objective. In this regard, our decision must be focused, consensus-based and presented in such a manner that will facilitate follow-up action. In this regard, we support the draft Final Declaration of this Conference, which calls for the early entry into force of the Treaty and its universal application to ban nuclear Tests.

I thank you.
 

Sources

• http://www.un.org/webcast/ctbt/statements/nigeriaE.htm