Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization

The Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) is an intergovernmental organization based in Vienna, Austria and it is headed by the Executive Secretary, Lassinza Zerbo, from Burkina Faso. It  has over 260 staff from over 70 countries  It bans nuclear explosions by everyone, everywhere: on the Earth's surface, in the atmosphere, underwater and underground.

Based on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, signed during the United Nations’ General Assembly in September 1996, the CTBTO main tasks are the promotion of the Treaty and the build-up of a global verification regime, the International Monitoring System (click here to see the map), so that it is operational when the Treaty enters into force. The annual budget is around US$130,000,000.

Over 2000 nuclear tests were carried out between 1945 and 1996, when the CTBT opened for signature by the United States (1000+), the Soviet Union (700+), France (200+), the United Kingdom and China (45 each). Three countries have broken the de facto moratorium and tested nuclear weapons since 1996: India and Pakistan in 1998, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in 2006, 2009, 2013, twice in 2016 (January and September) and 2017.

The organization’s main procurement activities involve:

1. establishment of monitoring stations around the world based on four major technologies: seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound and radionuclide;

2. contracts with state-designated bodies for the maintenance and operation of such stations;

3. engineering and development services for the IMS, as well as engineering and research studies to develop the efficiency of the verification regime;
4. state-of-the art equipment for on-site inspection activities;
5. computer hardware and mass storage systems;
6. software and software development;
7. data communication solutions related to the global communications infrastructure and International Data Centre in Vienna;
8. other goods and services required for the operations of CTBTO’s headquarters in Vienna.

The CTBTO’s procurement is generally undertaken on the basis of competition and is based on the fundamental principles of Best Value for Money, fairness, transparency, economy and effectiveness, as well as the interest of the organization to make sure that CTBTO’s IMS network is kept operational. Other than regular contracts and purchase orders, CTBTO concludes Long-Term Agreements (LTAs), e.g. such as framework or “call-off” contracts, for goods and services required over a longer time period. These LTAs are primarily put in place for the purpose of keeping the global verification regime operational.

Although the CTBTO’s headquarters are in Vienna, the procurement activities are global in scope since the IMS stations are spread across the world, some in very remote locations.The CTBTO’s annual procurement spend is typically around USD $60,000.000-70,000,000 .

No, and therefore the Express Interest button is grey. The user is required to carefully read the instructions of the procurement opportunity, which can be found under the Links/Documents tab of the actual procurement opportunity. 

If there is any doubt, contact the UN officer in charge, his/her contact details are included in the notice under the Contacts tab.

After registering on UNGM, suppliers are required to also complete their Supplier Profile Form.

• How to participate in procurement opportunities requiring hard copy or email submission?
• If a procurement protest needs to be submitted, contact the UN organization at procurement@ctbto.org 

Unfortunately, the CTBTO does not report to the ASR. To learn more about their procurement volume, visit the CTBTO Major Purchase Categories page.