I thank Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd for his leadership as Chairman of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO).

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,

Foreign Minister Rudd and I have just come from the Fifth Ministerial Meeting to promote the early entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

Ministers endorsed a Joint Statement reaffirming their strong commitment to the CTBT.

The path toward nuclear disarmament means an end to nuclear test explosions and an end to the development of nuclear weapons.

I urge all Governments that have not yet done so to sign and ratify the CTBT without further delay.

I repeat my call for the international community to bring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty into force by 2012.

And I urge all Governments to maintain existing moratoriums on nuclear weapon test explosions, and to refrain from any action that would defeat the object of either the CTBT or the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Testing has already left a terrible legacy. The time has come to end such tests and to sustain the current momentum towards a world without nuclear weapons.

I thank you very much and again, I appreciate the leadership of Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and many other distinguished foreign ministers who participated in this meeting today.