Australian Robert Floyd has been elected to lead the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) as its Executive Secretary.
Dr Floyd is currently the Director-General of the Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office which implements Australia’s treaty obligations relating to weapons of mass destruction.
He will take up his appointment as CTBTO Executive Secretary on August 1, succeeding Dr Lassina Zerbo who has served in the role since 2013.
Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne congratulated Dr Floyd on his election and thanked the countries thta supported his candidacy.
“As the first Executive Secretary elected from the Indo-Pacific, this demonstrates Australia’s active commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, and our practical contribution to multilateral co-operation, she said in a statement.
With 185 State Signatories, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) aims to end nuclear weapons testing worldwide.
Senator Payne said Australia had strongly advocated for a comprehensive and permanent ban on nuclear test explosions since the 1980s and in 1996 spearheaded the adoption of the UN General Assembly resolution to establish the CTBTO.