A nuclear nonproliferation official appointed by President Barack Obama said the administration seeks to achieve ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) by generating discussions among the public on its merits.
In a speech last Friday at the 2016 Deterrence and Assurance Conference held at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Adam Scheinman, special representative of the president for nuclear nonproliferation at the State Department, said the administration’s goal “is to lay the groundwork for eventual ratification by re-introducing CTBT to the American public,” without any set timeframe for ratification via Senate approval.
The CTBT would prohibit nuclear weapon explosive testing but has not been entered into force because eight states – including the United States – have not ratified the treaty, out of the 44 that are required to do so. The treaty currently has 183 signatories. The U.S. Senate voted against ratification in 1999.
Scheinman said that CTBT ratification would constrain nuclear arms buildup in Asia, where Pakistan, India, China, and North Korea are expanding their nuclear programs. The treaty would be verifiable due to a more “mature and tested” verification system centered around the International Monitoring System, a network that can detect low-yield explosions, he said. Other reasons to ratify, he said, include ratification by major U.S. allies relying on extended nuclear deterrence, and the success of the stockpile stewardship program that maintains the U.S. nuclear arsenal without full-scale nuclear testing.
Scheinman also called for multilateral negotiations on a fissile material cut-off treaty that would end nuclear weapon stockpile buildups worldwide. “The combined effect of a cutoff treaty and CTBT would be substantial,” he said. “Both are needed if we are to advance step-by-step toward a world without nuclear weapons.” He defended the U.S. “incremental and paced” approach to nuclear disarmament, arguing that despite a significant level of international support for a total ban on nuclear weapons, “nuclear disarmament is an end-point, not the pathway for getting there.”
