Ten Years of the Partial Test Ban Treaty 1963–1973

The date on which this report is released marks the tenth anniversary of the Partial Test Ban Treaty. It also marks the tenth anniversary of failure to bring about the discontinuance of all test explosions of nuclear weapons for all time. The pledge to seek to achieve this end, made by the three original parties to the Partial Test Ban Treaty, has remained a dead letter; the United Nations resolutions condemning nuclear-weapon tests, without exception, have been ignored.

During recent years, the Stockholm international Peace Research Institute has devoted considerable attention to the question of nuclear testing. It has published several papers on the methods of monitoring underground explosions as well as on the political and military significance of a complete cessation of nuclear-weapon tests.

In this research report an attempt is made to examine the structure of a possible comprehensive test-ban treaty in the light of the provisions of the partial treaty. It is hoped that the suggestions formulated here will prove useful when the states concerned finally decide to enter into substantive negotiations.