Statement attributable to the spokesman for the Secretary-General on the occasion of the signing by all Nuclear-Weapon States of the Protocol to the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia
When the Treaty entered into force on 21 March 2009, it created the world’s first nuclear-weapon-free zone located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere. The Secretary-General congratulates the five Central Asia States – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – on their achievement today of the first concrete step towards the consolidation of the zone. He hopes that the nuclear-weapon States ratify the Protocol without delay.
The Secretary-General reiterates his strong support for the further establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones, which contribute to the strengthening of global norms against nuclear weapons to the benefit of non-proliferation, regional security and disarmament.