Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help facilitate the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

The UK is committed to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. While we cannot predict when other States will take the decisions necessary to ratify the Treaty, we will continue to press all states who have not yet ratified it, including the US, to do so. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Asia made a statement pressing for the entry into force and universalisation of the Treaty at the Conference on Facilitating the Entry Into Force on 20 September 2017. More recently, during the current 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, the UK co-sponsored a resolution pursuing these goals for the Treaty.

The UK is a strong supporter of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). We are one of the leading players in the design, maintenance and development of the Treaty's Verification regime. We also contribute funding and extensive UK expertise to the CTBTO, as well as contributions-in-kind for exercises.