Always Too Early to Give Up

Abstract

Alva Myrdal, the late Swedish cabinet minister for disarmament, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and also a strong test ban advocate, used to say “it is always too early to give up”. Efforts for half a century to ban nuclear testing before the CTBT was finally signed in 1996 proved how right she was. This is by far the longest period that any treaty has been in the waiting room. A number of initiatives were taken during this time. Many individuals, delegations, institutions and States throughout the years devoted a lot of effort, ingenuity and money to paving the way for the Treaty. The path to the Treaty is marked by optimism and progress, disappointments and failures. The intent of this chapter is to capture lessons learned from the negotiations, the Treaty itself and its implementation.