UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- African countries reaffirm their position to support the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), a Ugandan envoy said at a United Nations meeting here on Monday.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly meeting on International Day against Nuclear Tests, Adonia Ayebare, permanent representative of Uganda to the United Nations, said on behalf of the African Group, that the group supports the goals of the CTBT, whose intention is the enforcement of a comprehensive ban on nuclear tests with all their attendant ramifications and to cease all vertical and horizontal proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Nuclear test explosions have devastating effects on the terrestrial environment. We all owe a duty to protect the environment by respecting the moratorium against nuclear testing as we work assiduously to achieve the universality of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the entry into force of the CTBT, Ayebare said.
The Group supports the principle of complete nuclear disarmament... and in this spirit, we recall the historical adoption of the Landmark Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), on 7 July 2017, he said, adding that the group therefore, wishes to urge all states to support the TPNW by signing and ratifying the Treaty at an early date.
The African Group restates its deep concern over the slow pace of progress by nuclear weapon States to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals, in accordance with their legal obligations and undertakings under Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, he said.
Africa underscores the contribution of nuclear-weapon-free zones across the world to the overall objectives of achieving nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation objectives, thereby enhancing global and regional peace and security, he said.