Learn about Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty

Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty formally Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Tests In The Atmosphere, In Outer Space And Under Water, treaty that banned all tests of nuclear weapons except those conducted underground.

The origins of the treaty lay in worldwide public concern over the danger posed by atmospheric radioactive fallout produced by the above-ground testing of nuclear weapons. This problem had become an important public issue by 1955, but the first negotiations to ban nuclear tests foundered on differing proposals and counterproposals made by the United States and the Soviet Union, which were the two dominant nuclear powers at the time. During most of 1959 both the United States and the Soviet Union temporarily suspended their testing, but negotiations over the next two years were slowed by renewed Cold War tensions between the two nations. A gradual rapprochement between the United States and the Soviet Union was speeded up by the Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962), which vividly illustrated the dangers of nuclear confrontation. The Anglo-American and Soviet proposals for a draft treaty came to resemble one another during late 1962, and, after only 10 days of discussion in Moscow in July-August 1963, representatives of the three nuclear powers pledged themselves for an "unlimited duration" to conduct no more nuclear-weapons tests in the atmosphere, underwater, or in space.

The Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty was signed in Moscow on Aug. 5, 1963, by the United States, the U.S.S.R., and the United Kingdom as the original parties. The treaty banned nuclear-weapons tests in the atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater but permitted underground testing and required no control posts, no on-site inspection, and no international supervisory body. It did not reduce nuclear stockpiles, halt the production of nuclear weapons, or restrict their use in time of war. The treaty was signed within a few months by more than 100 governments, notable exceptions being France and the People's Republic of China. The three original parties to the treaty, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, have the power to veto treaty amendments. Any amendment must be approved by a majority of all the signatory nations, including all three of the original parties.