NEWS RELEASES
CANADA HOPES FOR RESOLUTION OF COMPREHENSIVE TEST BAN TREATY IMPASSE
August 22, 1996 No. 146
CANADA HOPES FOR RESOLUTION OF
COMPREHENSIVE TEST BAN TREATY IMPASSE
Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy today expressed Canada's hope that, in
spite of an impasse at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, a way will be
found to ensure that the draft Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) is signed this
September.
"While consensus could not be reached in Geneva, arduous negotiations over the
past two years have produced a draft treaty. Canada is working with a wide range
of countries to ensure that this draft will be sent to the United Nations General
Assembly and opened for signature in September," said Mr. Axworthy.
The Minister noted that this treaty is the best compromise that could be achieved
and meets a long-term foreign policy objective: to bring about the permanent end
to nuclear test explosions. He added that Canada is committed to signing the
CTBT, which is a key component of Canada's broader nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation agenda.
Long before formal negotiations began, Canada was active in laying the political
and technical foundation for a treaty to end nuclear testing for all time. Over
the past two years, Canada has worked hard to resolve some of the Treaty's most
difficult and complex issues, such as verification. Canadian compromise language,
now part of the text, provides for a meeting in three years to look at ways of
overcoming any obstacles in the way of the Treaty's implementation.
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For further information, media representatives may contact:
Catherine Lappe
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851
Media Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1874
This document is also available on the Department's Internet site:
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
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