The UN General Assembly's vote yesterday to adopt the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) was a landmark decision that will strengthen the security of the United States and that of every nation in the world. It moves us toward the fulfillment of a decades-old dream that there will be no nuclear explosions anywhere. This dream has been shared by world leaders beginning with Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy.

The CTBT will prohibit any nuclear explosion, whether for military or peaceful purposes. It will effectively constrain the development and improvement of nuclear weapons, and contribute to the prevention of nuclear proliferation and our ultimate goal of nuclear disarmament.

President Clinton's personal leadership played a key role in the success of the CTBT negotiations. The President's decision in July 1993 to extend the moratorium on U.S. nuclear testing laid the groundwork for the negotiations, and his announcement in August 1995 that the United States would support a zero-yield CTBT paved the way for resolution of one of the Treaty's central issues.

Of course, this success would not have been possible without the strong and unstinting efforts of so many of our allies and friends around the world. I want especially to acknowledge the role played by the Government of Australia, which led the effort to bring the CTBT to the UN.

This treaty demonstrates the power of the international community to unite around a great goal, and to act together to improve the security of all its members. The United States calls upon all nations, especially those with a historic commitment to the CTBT, to sign and ratify it without delay.

We have another landmark arms control opportunity before us this week as the Senate is considering the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). This Convention is of critical importance to the security of the United States. The threat of chemical weapons, whether in the hands of governments or terrorists, is one of the most pressing security challenges we face in the post-Cold War era.

The CWC is a crucial tool in our global fight against chemical weapons proliferation. It establishes an international legal basis to seek out and isolate anyone who seeks to develop, produce or stockpile chemical weapons.

The CWC has bipartisan backing. It was negotiated during the Reagan and Bush Administrations and has the full support of President Clinton. We urge prompt ratification of the CWC to demonstrate to the world our determination to defeat the rogue states or terrorists who would use such weapons of mass destruction.

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