[JURIST] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] urged the US and nine other countries to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty [PDF text] on Tuesday, saying [press release] that the ratification would "move us toward the larger goals of ridding the world of nuclear weapons and preventing their proliferation." UN diplomats said that US leadership is essential to finishing the deal, which will not go into effect until all 44 nations listed in Annex 2 of the treaty ratify it. Only 10 nations have yet to ratify the accord, including China, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, and the US.

The US signed the treaty in 1996, but has consistently withheld ratification [JURIST report] citing national security concerns. The US staged a boycott [JURIST report] of a 2005 UN conference designed to encourage the treaty's passage. A total of 177 states have signed the treaty, 140 of which have ratified it in their home countries. AP has more.