CTBTO Preparatory Commission
concludes its seventh session,
Budget for 1999 agreed

A budget of US$ 74.7 million for 1999 was adopted on Friday 13 November by the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO PrepCom), at its seventh session held in Vienna from 9-13 November. Almost half ($35.5 million or 47.6%) will go towards establishing or upgrading the global network of stations for the International Monitoring System; $11.9 million (15.9%) will go towards building up the International Data Centre (IDC) at CTBTO PrepCom in Vienna; $9.9 million (13.3%) will go towards establishing the global communications infrastructure to link the monitoring facilities by satellite to the IDC; and $1.4 million (1.9%) will go towards developing procedures, guidelines and infrastructure to support an on-site inspection after the Treaty´s entry into force. Other recommendations While the main agenda item was the budget, which determines the pace at which the Treaty´s global verification regime can be established, State signatories adopted a number of other recommendations from its subsidiary bodies relating to verification, and budgetary and administrative issues. Chief among these was agreement in principle on: a list of 40 radionuclide monitoring stations that are recommended for an additional noble gas detection capability; procedures for transferring samples for analysis from the radionuclide stations to the radionuclide laboratories and for certifying these laboratories; a list of seismic equipment for acquisition by the CTBTO PrepCom for testing and training for on-site inspections; a list of verification tasks for 1999; and legal procedures for dealing with alternative locations for monitoring stations where surveys have shown the sites laid down in the Treaty to be unfeasible. Background The Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO PrepCom) is setting up the global verification regime of the CTBT - so that it is operational when the CTBT enters into force - and preparing for the Treaty´s entry into force. The International Monitoring System (IMS) will draw on a global network of 321 monitoring stations, spanning some 90 countries, that will be capable of recording data generated by nuclear explosions and other sources around the world. The network includes 50 primary and 120 auxiliary seismic stations from which data can be used to distinguish between nuclear explosions and the thousands of earth tremors registered annually by the seismic system. It also includes 80 radionuclide stations to sample radioactive debris released during a nuclear explosion and an additional 16 laboratories to assist in the analysis of samples. In addition, 60 infrasound and 11 hydroacoustic stations will be able to record acoustic signals in the atmosphere or under water that might have come from a nuclear explosion. The monitoring stations will transmit, via satellite, in near real time the data to the International Data Centre (IDC) within CTBTO PrepCom in Vienna, where the data will be used to detect, locate and characterize events. These data and IDC products will be made available to the States signatories for final analysis. Attendance at the seventh session The session was attended by 79 States signatories: Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia,* Austria,* Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil,* Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic,* Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France,* Georgia, Germany,* Ghana, Greece, Holy See, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Israel, Italy, Japan,* Jordan,* Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru,* Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar,* Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia,* Slovenia, South Africa, Spain,* Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,* United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen and Zambia. The session was also attended by the following observers: Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and the League of Arab States. ___________ *States that have deposited their instruments of ratification of the CTBT.

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