Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Source: IE
Context: Russia has recently suggested the possibility of withdrawing its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), not to resume nuclear testing but to align with the United States.
- The CTBT is a global treaty, adopted by the United Nations in 1996, aimed at prohibiting all nuclear explosions for military or peaceful purposes. However, it has not yet entered into force due to the incomplete ratification process by several countries.
About the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT):
- The origins of the CTBT can be traced back to the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union, which conducted numerous nuclear tests from 1945 to 1996, causing concerns about the environmental and health impacts of radioactive fallout.
- Various attempts to limit nuclear testing were made, including the Limited Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty in 1963, which prohibited tests in the atmosphere, outer space, and underwater but allowed underground testing.
- The CTBT, established in 1996, sought to impose a complete ban on explosive nuclear testing, taking advantage of reduced geopolitical tensions after the end of the Cold War. Despite its adoption, some countries have conducted nuclear tests since then, including India, Pakistan, and North Korea.
- The treaty requires ratification by 44 specific countries with nuclear technology, and eight of them, including China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, and the United States, have yet to do so.
