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| Monday, November 12, 2001, updated at 09:34(GMT+8) |
U.S. Boycotts U.N. Conference on Nuclear Test Ban Treaty |
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A U.N. conference on speeding ratification of the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty opened Sunday without the United States, which reiterated last week that it did not support the pact.
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A U.N. conference on speeding ratification of the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty opened Sunday without the United States, which reiterated last week that it did not support the pact.
The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, signed by 161 nations and ratified by 84 of them, cannot take effect until all 44 countries that possess nuclear weapons or have nuclear power programs have signed or ratified the treaty.
Only 31 such nations, including Britain, France and Russia, have ratified the 1996 accord that bans nuclear tests in any environment. The United States is among 13 non-ratifiers.
Washington had signed the pact five years ago, but the Senate rejected the treaty in 1999. Opponents of the treaty say it is unenforceable.
The United States forced a vote last week in the U.N. Committee on Disarmament and Security to demonstrate its opposition to the test ban accord.
At that session, the United States was the only nation to vote against the accord, while India and Pakistan both new nuclear nations that have not yet signed the treaty joined Russia, China, Britain and France in voted in its favor.
The United States was invited to attend Sunday's conference as an observer but decided not to go, State Department spokeswoman Eliza Koch said.
"The purpose of the conference is to promote ratifications of the treaty, and the administration has made clear that it has no plans to ask the Senate to reconsider its 1999 vote on this issue," she said.
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