UN General Assembly
1999

world. Unless the United Nations of the future is able to make significant progress in nuclear disarmament, it runs the risk of losing credibility as an institution dedicated to the pursuit of peace. The United Nations of the twenty- first century, therefore, should be one which can give humankind hope for a world of diminished poverty and no threat of a nuclear war. 6 Tomorrow, 24 September, marks the third anniversary of the opening for signature of the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). It has long been accepted that the future credibility of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) will depend on the effective implementation of the CTBT. Convinced of the need to enhance the institutional fabric of the CTBT, Lesotho deposited its instrument of ratification of the CTBT with the Secretary-General earlier this month, thus joining the steadily increasing number of States that have so far ratified the Convention. Lesotho supports the holding of the special conference on the CTBT, as envisaged under article 14 of that Treaty, with a view to accelerating its ratification.