interview - Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization

InterviewPortugal andthe CTBTO:Going forwardtogetherThe importanceof putting facilityagreements in placePortugal's Secretary of State João Gomes Cravinho (left) and TiborTóth, Executive Secretary of the CTBTO, after signing the facilityagreement, Vienna, Austria, 17 February 2011. Photo: Pablo MehlhornOn 17 February 2011, Portugalbecame the 40th State to concludea facility agreement with thePreparatory Commission for theComprehensive Nuclear-Test-BanTreaty Organization (CTBTO).After signing the agreement onbehalf of the Government of Portugal,Secretary of State for Foreign Affairsand Cooperation, João Gomes Cravinho,spoke to Lisa Tabassi and Fanny TonosPaniagua from the CTBTO Legal Services.Could you describe Portugal’sparticipation in the activities of theCTBTO?Portugal has always been a strongsupporter of the ComprehensiveNuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)and has been very active withinthe CTBTO. It is a member of theConference on Disarmament, wherethe Treaty was negotiated. It hasthree stations in its territory, allof them located in Azores, thusmaking Portugal one of the fewMember States hosting InternationalMonitoring System (IMS) facilitiesin the middle of the North Atlantic.Portugal always participates in themeetings of different groups ofthe CTBTO, including, at present,the Advisory Group 1 . Portugal isrepresented at the CTBTO by highlyqualified professionals who actentirely independently. We are alwaysavailable to cooperate with the CTBTO,as our participation in differentworkshops has proved. Moreover,being a Member of the EuropeanUnion we are also responsible forthe approval of significant voluntarycontributions to the CTBTO.How do you think the conclusion ofthis facility agreement will furtherimprove collaboration betweenPortugal and the CTBTO?From the very beginning, we have beenin favour of this kind of agreementwhich facilitates the development ofgood relations between Portugal and the_______________[1] The Advisory Group advises the CTBTO and itssubsidiary bodies on financial, budgetary andassociated administrative issues.CTBTO. With the agreement we havenow signed, numerous problems thatcould have arisen in the developmentof the post-certification activities ofthe stations, namely bureaucratic ones,will be waived. We consider that thereis still a long way to go regarding theremaining 49 States that have not yetsigned a facility agreement and wecommend the CTBTO for its work sofar and fully endorse its continuation.With this agreement, relations betweenPortugal and the CTBTO, which werealready excellent, will be sustained anddeveloped. The facility agreement willensure that our National Data Centre(NDC) will be able to accomplish itstask as well, namely sending monitoringdata to the International Data Centre(IDC) in Vienna and receiving data andanalyses from the IDC.There has been remarkable progress inthe build-up of the IMS since the Treatyopened for signature in September 1996.Of the planned 337 IMS facilities, 264are already operational and sendingdata to the IDC. At the same time,however, challenges remain.33CTBTO SPECTRUM 16 | May 2011

BRAZILRUSSIAN FEDERATIONCANADAUNITED STATES OF AMERICANISIALIBYANARABJAMAHIRIYAAEGYPTMANPHILIPPINESETHIOPIAIAPALAUKIRIBATIPUA NEW GUINEASOLOMON ISLANDSSAMOAMADAGASCARFIJICOOK ISLANDSNAMIBIAAUSTRALIASOUTH AFRICANEW ZEALANDThe 40 countries in green indicate those that have signed a facility agreement with the CTBTO. The 49 countries in orange indicate those that have yet to sign facility agreements (as of May 2011).international peace and security. Wemust always bear in mind that thesystem has four components: the IMS,a consultation and clarification process,on-site inspections and confidencebuildingmeasures – which are equallyimportant and they all deserve the sameattention by the CTBTO. In the case offacility agreements, we consider that,apart from the advantages for the IMS,they are also a confidence-buildingmeasure, both for the State that signsit and for other Member States, as theyserve as an example and clearly definerules and procedures. It is, however,mandatory that States fulfill theirobligations arising from both the CTBTand the facility agreement.Is there a role for Portugal in thePortuguese speaking world to encourageStates that have signed but not ratifiedthe Treaty to take the next step?The CPLP – Comunidade de Países deLíngua Portuguesa – is an organizationthat has been enlarging its scopebecause of the very good relationsbetween its members. Defense isnowadays an area that also concernsCPLP. Within this context, but alsobilaterally with its members, Portugalhas always been supportive of allmeasures to enhance peace and security.We shall make extra efforts to helpthose States that have not finalized theprocedures for Treaty ratification and weoffer our collaboration to the CTBTO toaccomplish this goal.Biographical notesJoão Gomes Cravinhohas been the Secretary of State for ForeignAffairs and Cooperation of Portugal since2009. Prior to this he served as AssistantProfessor at the Faculty of Economy,Coimbra University, Portugal. He haspublished extensively in Portuguese andforeign journals. Dr Cravinho has alsoworked in the area of DevelopmentCooperation. He has served as Presidentof the Institute for PortugueseCooperation and as a consultant tonational and international institutions(European Commission and World Bank).Lisa Tabassijoined Legal Services at theCTBTO in 2007 and wasappointed Chief in 2010. Prior tothis, she worked for 14 years inthe Office of the Legal Adviser ofthe Organisation for theProhibition of ChemicalWeapons. She has also workedfor law firms in the United Statesand Iran and for the Iran-UnitedStates Claims Tribunal in TheHague, the Netherlands.Fanny Tonos Paniaguahas worked for LegalServices at the CTBTOsince September 2010.Prior to this, she workedfor 10 years in thediplomatic service of theDominican Republicwhere she specialized inpublic international lawand nationalimplementation ofmultilateral treaties.35CTBTO SPECTRUM 16 | May 2011