The sixth Article XIV (Entry Into Force) Conference of the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) is scheduled to be held
in New York City on 24–25 September 2009. NGO representatives
must apply for accreditation to attend this conference. Because
the Conference is being held during the UN General Assembly’s
General Debate, when many heads of state will be on the premises,
access to the UN building will be highly restricted. It is
vitally important that anyone interested in attending the
Conference submit all their necessary materials for accreditation
on time and provide plenty of time for the registration process
once the conference begins.
NGO statement to the Conference
It is expected that one statement on behalf of NGOs will be
made on Friday, 25 September 2009 during the afternoon session.
Reaching Critical Will and the Arms Control Association are
facilitating the drafting of this statement. If you are interested
in participating in this process—whether or not you’ll
be in New York for the Conference itself—please send
a blank email to ctbt-artxiv-subscribe[at]yahoogroups.com
or go to .
For those NGO representatives interested in attending the
Conference, please see the attached information provided by
the UN. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate
to ask me. Please note that the deadline for submitting your
accreditation materials to the UN is 28 August 2009.
INFORMATION FOR PARTICIPATION BY NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
AT THE CONFERENCE ON FACILITATING THE ENTRY INTO FORCE OF
THE COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR-TEST-BAN TREATY
1. Date and Place
The Conference on
Facilitating the Entry into Force
of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban
Treaty (hereinafter called “the
Conference”) will be held from
24-25 September 2009, at the United Nations Headquarters
in New York. The opening of the Conference is planned to take
place at 9.00 a.m. on Thursday, 24 September 2009.
The Conference room venue and other details regarding the
opening of the Conference will be announced in the UN Journal.
2. Opening of the Conference
The opening of the
Conference is planned to take place at 9.00 a.m. on
Thursday 24 September 2009. The Conference room venue and
other details regarding the opening of the Conference will
be announced in the UN Journal.
3. Provisions for the attendance of non-governmental organizations
Non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) that wish to attend the
Conference may apply to the Secretariat of the Conference.
Permission to attend will be granted on
the decision of the Conference. Pursuant to rule 43 of the
draft rules of procedure (CTBT – Art.XIV/2009/1), such
an NGO shall be entitled to attend
open meetings of the Conference, to receive upon request
the documents of the Conference and
to make available at its own cost
written contributions on matters under
consideration by the Conference. At the invitation
of the President of the Conference, a representative chosen
by NGOs attending the conference from among their number would
be allowed to address the Conference under the agenda
item allocated for this purpose
(item 15 of the draft provisional agenda, CTBT
– Art.XIV/2009/2.Rev1).
NGOs, irrespective of whether
their representatives have valid United
Nations ground passes, are requested
to submit a written application for
accreditation that must include the following:
· A letter written on an organizational
letterhead signed by the head of the organization requesting
attendance at the Conference. This letter should include
the composition of the delegation (list of full names and
date of birth) and an overview of past interactions, if any,
between the organization and the United Nations, particularly
in relation to disarmament and non-proliferation. Such
interaction may also include affiliation with the Department
of Public Information (DPI), or consultative status with the
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The letter should indicate
whether it is the first time that the NGO requests accreditation
to participate in a meeting at the United Nations.
· A mission statement or summary of work
that includes information on the organization’s purpose,
programmes and activities related to the scope of the Conference.
This information should not exceed two pages in length.
The written application for
accreditation should be received no later than
28 August 2009 by the Secretariat of the Conference
c/o Ms. Soo-Hyun Kim, Information and Outreach
Branch, Office for Disarmament Affairs, Room S-3151E,
United Nations, New York, N.Y. 10017, USA, Fax:
+1 917 367 5369. Accreditation
received by fax will be considered provisional
until the signed letters are received by mail.
Please bear in mind that, due to enhanced security procedures,
the names submitted will not be eligible
for later revision. Therefore, it is advised that
organizations submit the composition of their
delegation only after careful review.
On the basis of this
information, the Secretariat will prepare a list of NGOs
for a decision on participation by the Conference. NGOs
will be notified by e-mail on 4 September 2009 as to
whether their documentation was received in order and
whether the name of their organization will be included
in the list for submission to the Conference.
Such notification will be deemed as provisional accreditation
and each member of the NGO’s delegation must produce
this notification during the registration process.
4. Registration and Issuance of Identification Badges
Security regulations in
force require that all participants be registered
and have a valid grounds pass plus any additional
security badges that may be required
in order to access the United Nations Headquarters
building and the Conference rooms.
Procedures for registration and
the issuance of identification will be posted on the websites
of UN ODA ()
and the CTBTO Preparatory Commission (),
as soon as available.
5. Documentation
Copies of official documents and
statements will be made available to NGO representatives attending
the session and will also be posted on the websites of UN
ODA (http://www.un.org/disarmament) and the CTBTO Preparatory
Commission (http://www.ctbto.org), as soon as available.
6. Availability of NGO documents and material to delegations
NGOs may display their documents
and other information materials on a table located outside
the conference room. It is kindly requested that one
copy of each of those documents and materials be provided
to the Secretariat prior to their being placed on the tables.
7. NGO presentation
Without prejudice to a decision
by the States as to the timetable of the Conference, it is
expected that one statement on behalf of NGOs will be made
on Friday 25 September 2009 during the afternoon session from
3.00-6.00 p.m. As in the past, NGOs are requested to coordinate
among themselves in deciding which representative will address
the Conference. It would be appreciated if the designated
NGO coordinator would provide a set of 10 copies of the presentation
to Ms. Soo-Hyun Kim of UN ODA, no later than 23 September
2009.
8. NGO contact persons
The Secretariat has been informed
that the following is the NGO point of contact in connection
with NGO participation in the Conference:
Ms. Ray Acheson
NGO Coordinator
Reaching Critical Will
777 UN Plaza, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10017, USA
Tel: (1-212) 682-1265
Fax: (1-212) 286-8211
E-mail: ray[at]reachingcriticalwill.org
9. Letters of invitation and visas
The United Nations
Office for Disarmament Affairs is not in
a position to provide letters of
invitation and letters to consulates requesting that
NGO representatives be provided visas for traveling to the
United States in order to attend the Conference. The procurementof
visas, travel arrangements and related costs are strictly
the responsibility of the NGO representatives. It is important
that NGO representatives make their visa
and travel arrangements at their earliest
possible convenience.
