Speaker
Description
Twenty-five years ago, in 1996, the opening of the CTBT for signatures was followed by the Resolution of the General Assembly on establishing the Preparatory Commission (PrepCom) for the CTBTO (Resolution). According to this Resolution the PrepCom is required to make all necessary preparations for the support of on-site inspections (OSI) from the entry into force of the Treaty.
This contribution will provide an overview of the remarkable development and interrelationship of OSI capabilities particularly regarding the methodology for the planning and conduct of an inspection, the application of the permitted inspection techniques and the training of (surrogate) inspectors. It will also assess the status of preparations as specified in paragraph 15 of the Annex to the Resolution. Examples of co-operation between the States Signatories and the Provisional Technical Secretariat will illustrate some of the achievements.
Ongoing technical developments and innovations will be discussed with a view to identifying opportunities for further improvement of OSI capabilities within the framework of the Treaty and its Protocol in order to make inspections more efficient and effective. Finally, thanks to the current status of the OSI capabilities, the potential for and ideas on using these capabilities for civil applications will be presented as well.
