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<title>AXWORTHY REGRETS DECISION BY U.S. SENATE NOT TO RATIFY COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR TEST BAN TREATY </title>
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<p><font face="Arial"></font><font face="Arial"></font><font face="Arial" size="+1"></font><font face="Arial" size="+1">October 14, 1999 <em>(12:50 p.m. EDT)</em> No. 225</font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial" size="+1"><strong>AXWORTHY REGRETS DECISION BY U.S. SENATE NOT TO RATIFY</strong></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial" size="+1"><strong> COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR TEST BAN TREATY </strong></font><font face="Arial" size="+1"></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy today expressed regret at the failure of the
United States Senate to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
The Treaty fell 19 votes short of the 67 required for ratification, with only 48
Senators voting in favour, 51 against, and one abstaining. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">"A world accustomed to U.S. leadership in the cause for nuclear non-proliferation
and disarmament can only be deeply disturbed by this turn of events, which will be
welcomed by those who remain uncommitted to that cause," said Mr. Axworthy. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Canada has urged all countries who have yet to ratify the CTBT -- including the
United States -- to do so as soon as possible. This was the main message of last
week's Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, where Canada and 90 other states, which have signed or
ratified the Treaty, affirmed their commitment to achieve its early entry into force.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">"I am convinced that Canada, the United States, and the rest of the world, will be
much more secure with the CTBT than without it," said Mr. Axworthy. "And I will
continue to work to achieve the Treaty's entry into force as soon as possible. I
welcome the Administration's commitment to continue its moratorium on nuclear
testing, and hope the U.S. Senate will reconsider its decision on the CTBT in the
near future." </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was negotiated during the Conference
on Disarmament and opened for signature on September 24, 1996. Under the
Treaty, signatories are obliged "not to carry out any nuclear test explosion or any
other nuclear explosion, and to prohibit any such nuclear test explosion at any place
under its jurisdiction or control." The CTBT recognizes that halting all nuclear test
explosions is an effective measure for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, as
it constrains the development and improvement of nuclear weapons. </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Article XIV of the CTBT stipulates that it will enter into force only when ratified by the
44 states possessing nuclear technology. To date, 26 of the 44 states have ratified
the Treaty; three -- India, Pakistan and North Korea -- have not yet signed. U.S.
ratification is among the 18 remaining ratifications needed for the CTBT to enter into
force. Canada, one of the Article XIV nations, deposited its article of ratification with
the United Nations last December.</font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Arial"></font><font face="Arial">- 30 -</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">For further information, media representatives may contact:</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Debora Brown</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">(613) 995-1851</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Media Relations Office</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial">(613) 995-1874</font></p>
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