House to ratify antinuclear-weapon treaty

Jakarta: Indonesia is coming closer to ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) after House of Representatives Commission I on defense, foreign affairs and intelligence gave its endorsement on Wednesday.

The CTBT bans all nuclear weapon tests. The treaty has gained world attention but requires ratification by several named states before it can be enforced.

“Now the government can make use of the CTBT as a multilateral forum in order establish a nuclear-free area,” Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told reporters on Wednesday.

All factions in the commission have given positive recommendations as they believe the ratification can improve Indonesia’s standing in the international community as well as encourage other countries to ratify the treaty.

“We hope countries that haven’t ratified the treaty, such as the US and Israel, will follow our initiative,” commission chairman Mahfudz Siddiq said.

In the past, the commission was reluctant to endorse the treaty because it did not see much benefit in it.

It, however, change its opinion after realizing that countries that had ratified the treaty were forbidden to attack each other. One hundred and fifty-five states have ratified the treaty, while another 27 have signed it but have not ratified it. The CTBT was first adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1996.