UN Warns of Arms-Race Risk as Nuclear Powers Refuse to Ratify Test Ban Treaty

At a United Nations General Assembly meeting marking the International Day against Nuclear Tests, disarmament chief Izumi Nakamitsu warned that the refusal of the United States, Russia, China and other nuclear-armed states to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) could trigger a new arms race. Late last year, the United States and Russia signaled a possible return to nuclear testing, prompting President Donald Trump to accuse Russia and China of conducting tests—a claim the latter deny. Robert Floyd, head of the CTBT organization, noted that Tonga’s recent ratification brought the total number of parties to 179, yet nine key states remain outside the treaty’s full effect.

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Adopted in 1996, the CTBT requires ratification by 44 specific states to enter into force. Nine of those states—including the United States, China, Iran, Egypt and Israel—have signed but not ratified; India, Pakistan and North Korea have neither signed nor ratified. Russia had ratified but revoked its ratification in 2023. Since 1945 the world has witnessed more than 2,000 nuclear test explosions, but fewer than 12 in the past three decades, reflecting a long-standing norm of restraint now under threat.

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Nakamitsu emphasized that “even contemplating such a course is dangerous,” arguing that any resumption would erode decades of restraint, deepen mistrust and risk reciprocal testing. Floyd cautioned that renewed testing could produce technologically advanced arsenals and increase the chance of nuclear miscalculation. In the same session, Tina Cordova—co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium— testified that generations of her family have suffered radiation-related cancers, underscoring the human toll of past tests.

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Cordova described how five generations of her family were exposed to radiation beginning with the first atomic bomb on July 16, 1945 in New Mexico. She highlighted that communities in Guam, Tahiti, Kazakhstan, Aboriginal Australia and several U.S. states—including Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Montana—have similarly endured health consequences. “We’re the people that became the collateral damage to the development and testing of nuclear devices and were left to deal with the consequences on our own,” she said, calling for acknowledgment and assistance.

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• “Even contemplating such a course is dangerous,” — Izumi Nakamitsu, disarmament chief

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• “We’re the people that became the collateral damage to the development and testing of nuclear devices and were left to deal with the consequences on our own,” — Tina Cordova

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