Tonga and Tuvalu are among 13 countries that have not signed a global treaty to ban nuclear tests and are being urged to sign and or ratify the treaty as soon as possible.

Along with Cuba, North Korea, Syria, Somalia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Mauritius, Dominica and Bhutan, Tonga and Tuvalu remain among the few countries that have neither signed nor ratified the treaty known as the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBTO).

The CTBTO treaty was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1996 and has since been ratified/signed by 183 countries.The treaty “bans nuclear explosions by everyone, everywhere: on the earth’s surface, in the atmosphere, underwater and underground.”

Both Tonga and Tuvalu have been encouraged to sign and ratify the treaty. In 2010, a declaration was signed by leaders of the Pacific Island’s Forum urging all members to sign and ratify the treaty. Niue became the 183^rd country to do so when Niue’s Associate Minister for External Affairs, Talatitama Talaiti signed the treaty in New York last year.

Niue’s signature was praised by the CTBTO and it was hoped that Niue’s entry would encourage Tonga and Tuvalu to sign. CTBTO’s Spokesperson Annika Thunborg stated that “…Tonga and Tuvalu still need to sign and ratify”.

Tibor Toth, the CTBTO’s Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation,  welcomed Niue to the CTBT family of nations. “Niue’s signature of the CTBT consolidates the region’s firm stand against nuclear testing and closes the door on nuclear testing a bit further. I also hope that this step will serve to encourage other Pacific Island States that have not yet done so to sign and or ratify the treaty at the earliest opportunity”.