Countries ask Annan to reschedule meeting on nuclear test ban treaty

Several countries have asked Secretary-General Kofi Annan to postpone a meeting on a treaty outlawing nuclear tests following the decision to delay the United Nations General Assembly's annual high-level debate, a UN spokesman said today.

The majority of States that have ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) have sent a letter to the Secretary-General asking him to postpone the Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the CTBT, spokesman Fred Eckhard said.

The Conference was originally scheduled to take place from 25 to 27 September in New York but will be rescheduled to coincide with the first week of the general debate of the 56th session of the General Assembly, whenever those dates are determined, Mr. Eckhard said.