UNITED NATIONS, Sept 22: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Wednesday called upon the United States and ten other key countries to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and stressed that the longer the treaty’s operation was delayed, the greater the risk that “someone, somewhere, will test nuclear weapons”.

That possibility, the secretary-general told the opening of the fourth conference to facilitate the 1996 treaty’s entry into force, would be a major setback for the cause of non-proliferation and disarmament.

“Yet we are not, as yet rising to this challenge, as we saw at last week’s World Summit. For the second time in four months, States could not agree a way forward on disarmament, non-proliferation, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy.”

Those ten countries, known as Annex 2 states because they are among the 44 countries listed in the treaty’s annexure whose ratification is required, are: China, Colombia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, United States, and Vietnam.

The treaty opened for signature nine years ago, and while majority of states — 176 — have signed it and 125 have ratified it, 11 more countries whose ratification is essential for the treaty to become effective have still not done so.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer warned: “The proliferation danger is now even more acute, given the known interest of terrorists in acquiring weapons of mass destruction.”