UN Security Council Approves Resolution to Ban Nuclear Tests

On Friday, October 2, the UN Security Council approved a resolution proposed by the Barack Obama administration to ban nuclear tests with a majority vote. This resolution encourages eight countries, including Iran, to endorse the ban on nuclear explosions. A total of 196 countries are members of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), of which 183 have signed it and 164 have ratified it. However, this treaty has not yet become binding, as eight countries involved in the original negotiations continue to withhold approval. These eight countries are Iran, Israel, Egypt, India, Pakistan, North Korea, the United States, and China. According to Reuters from New York, the resolution passed at the suggestion of the United States is not legally binding but adds political and diplomatic weight towards adherence to this treaty. The same news agency reported that out of the 15 members of the UN Security Council, 14 voted in favor of this resolution, with only Egypt abstaining. The Barack Obama administration has stated since taking office that it supports signing this treaty to end nuclear tests; however, several members of Congress, particularly Republicans, have opposed it, arguing that this action would negatively affect U.S. security. A year ago, the head of the CTBT Organization requested that Iran, following the nuclear agreement with world powers known as the JCPOA, also ratify this international treaty and guarantee that it would never conduct a nuclear explosion test. Lassina Zerbo, the head of this organization, stated in an interview with the Associated Press in September 2015 that if Iran does not ratify this treaty, doubts will remain about Tehran's intentions. However, among the eight countries that have not ratified the treaty, it has been India, Pakistan, and North Korea that have conducted nuclear tests since 1996, the year the CTBT was proposed. Among these, North Korea conducted its fifth and largest nuclear test this month, which literally caused an earthquake. In this context, a UN official stated that Iran and Israel are close to endorsing the nuclear test ban, and Ban Ki-moon called for the eight countries to join the nuclear test ban treaty. There was also an agreement in the Security Council on imposing new sanctions against North Korea, and meetings were held between the foreign ministers of the U.S., Japan, and South Korea following North Korea's missile test.