Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government’s priorities have been for the 51st session of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organisation, held in Vienna on 5 to 7 November 2018.

The UK has always strongly supported the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO). Our goal is to see this Treaty enter into force and bring an end to nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosion. We used the Preparatory Committee to continue conversations on how to continue to best support the CTBTO. We continue to press for ratification by those countries who will bring the Treaty into force (Annex II countries). We continue to support the CTBTO's verification system, which is a unique and immensely important international asset. We have supported the 2019 Budget Update but have also called on all States Signatories in arrears of their assessed contributions to make payments to reduce their arrears as a matter of urgency. We continue to participate in and support both of the CTBTO's working groups.