V. CTBT ministarski sastanak - 65. zasjedanje Opće skupštine Ujedinjenih naroda

Brief Statement by
H. E. Mr. GORDAN JANDROKOVIĆ
at the FIFTH CTBT MINISTERIAL MEETING
on the EARLY ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE
COMPREHENSIVE NUСLEAR TEST-BAN TREATY
at the 65th Session of the UN General Assembly

New York, 23rd September 2010

Mr Chairman,

It is my great pleasure to take the floor under your leadership of the Fifth CTBT Ministerial Meeting for the early entry into force of the Treaty.   

I am confident that you will steer us toward a successful outcome of the Conference and I would like to assure you that you can count on our full support and cooperation.

Allow me also to express our gratitude to the Secretary General of the UN and to the UN Secretariat for organizing this event.

Our deep appreciation goes as well to the Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO, Ambassador Tibor Toth, and his staff for their dedicated work in building the CTBTO and especially the Treaty's verification regime.

Croatia joined the EU statement and shares its content in its entirety.
However, I would like to add few thoughts in my national capacity.

Croatia has been an active participant in all CTBT Conferences and ministerial meetings.

We ratified the Treaty in 2001 and from that time on many activities have been undertaken to promote the values of the Treaty, to give our substantial contribution in verification activities and to establish all necessary capacities for cooperation with the Provisional Technical Secretariat.

The intensity of our cooperation was very evident in 2006 when Croatia hosted the On-site Inspection Exercise with participants from twenty countries.

I am glad to say that in August this year the Croatian National Data Centre has been equipped and tested and is now fully functional.

I hope that this brief information was enough illustrative to show that Croatia is fully committed to the successful future of the CTBTO.

Our commitment rests on our awareness about the precious purpose and importance of this Treaty in creating a world free of nuclear weapons, for the sake of global stability and security.
But at the same time we should not lose out of sight the CTBT’s relevance for civil purposes such as early warning system, especially for all countries like Croatia which do not have any nuclear program.

As the universality of the Treaty is our final goal, its successful ratification by the countries listed in the Annex 2 of the Treaty, should remain our priority.

Achieving this goal would be a milestone in the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons worldwide. 

The CTBT has already proven its strength and validity among global nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regimes.

Croatia on its part will remain committed to a strong and continual support in achieving our common goals.

Thank you!