Statement by Minister of Foreign Affairs on International Day Against Nuclear Tests

Statement

August 29, 2018 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement:

“Canada is firmly committed to the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons and nuclear testing, which remains a significant threat to international peace and security.

“The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty [CTBT] is an integral component of the global non-proliferation and disarmament regime, and Canada strongly supports efforts toward its full ratification. The entry into force of the Treaty will provide tangible security benefits for all states, and help to advance our collective efforts to halt the spread of nuclear weapons and eliminate existing arsenals.

“As North Korea’s behaviour over the past several years has shown, test explosions have harmful and destabilizing consequences that threaten global peace and security. Canada welcomes the recent high-level inter-Korean dialogue and ongoing engagement between the United States and North Korea. We urge North Korea to follow up by taking concrete, verifiable action to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction programs. The signing and ratification of the CTBT would be an important step to demonstrate its genuine intent to halt nuclear testing.

“Canada is an active leader in efforts to end nuclear testing, including through our strong contributions to the CTBT, its organization, and the International Monitoring System. Canada currently hosts 16 of the CTBT organization’s monitoring stations and laboratories, and has contributed valuable data following North Korea’s nuclear tests.

“We know that nuclear disarmament is possible, and we will continue to do our part to advance collective efforts toward this goal.” 

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Contacts

Adam Austen
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Adam.Austen@international.gc.ca

Media Relations Office
Global Affairs Canada
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media@international.gc.ca
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