International Day against Nuclear Tests 2015, August 29th

 禁止核试验国际日, 8月29日.
 Международный день действий против ядерных испытаний, 29 августа.
 International Day Against Nuclear Tests, 29 August.
 Día Internacional contra los Ensayos Nucleares‬, ‪29 de Agosto‬.
 Journée internationale contre les essais nucléaires, 29 Août.
اختبارات اليوم الدولي لمكافحة النووية , 29 آب/أغسطس

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Message on the International Day Against Nuclear Tests 2015.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the dawn of the nuclear age. Seven decades ago, the Trinity Test unleashed the power of more than 20,000 tons of TNT and precipitated over 2,000 additional nuclear tests.
Pristine environments and populated communities in Central Asia, North Africa, North America and the South Pacific were hit. Many have never recovered from the resulting environmental, health and economic damage.
Poisoned groundwater, cancer, leukaemia, radioactive fallout – these are among the poisonous legacies of nuclear testing.
The best way to honour the victims of past tests is to prevent any in the future.
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty is essential for the elimination of nuclear weapons. It is a legally-binding, verifiable means by which to constrain the quantitative and qualitative development of nuclear weapons.
Nearly two decades after the CTBT was negotiated, the time has long past
for its entry-into-force.
I welcome the voluntary moratoria on testing imposed by nuclear-armed States. At the same time, I stress that these cannot substitute for a legally-binding Treaty.
On this International Day, I repeat my longstanding call on all remaining States to sign and ratify the Treaty – especially the eight necessary for its entry-into-force – as a critical step on the road to a nuclear-weapon-free world.

Ban Ki-moon

Message by the President of the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on the International Day against Nuclear Tests 2015, August 29th.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the first nuclear weapon test, carried out in New Mexico in July 1945. In the months following that test, the General Assembly adopted its first resolution calling for the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction. Furthermore, in 2009, the General Assembly adopted resolution 64/35, designating 29 August as the International Day against Nuclear Tests.
This year’s commemoration of the International Day against Nuclear Tests presents an opportunity to raise awareness and educate the public about this critical issue. Education can play a key role in building mutual understanding, promoting peace, and advocating for disarmament. We should make use of this occasion to engage with civil society, the media and academia, to work together towards a world free of nuclear weapons.
Despite the grave impacts of nuclear weapons testing on human lives, the environment, and international peace and security; the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) has still not entered into force. During its current session, the United Nations General Assembly has reiterated its firm commitment to the Treaty. I would like to use this occasion to stress the vital importance and urgency of its signature and ratification, without delay, in order to realize the CTBT’s early entry into force.
The recently held 2015 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) has highlighted the stark reality of the increasing divisions between the States parties over the future of nuclear disarmament. It is now time to bridge the gap and work with more resolute political will to ensure that the NPT continues to remain the cornerstone of global security. 
I applaud the efforts of the Government of Kazakhstan, not only for initiating the International Day against Nuclear Tests, but also for its continuing leadership in efforts to end nuclear weapons testing and to promote a world free of nuclear weapons.
I also commend the recent announcement of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear programme, reached in Vienna between the E3 + 3 and Iran as an important step forward on this critical issue. I hope this agreement will benefit the non-proliferation regime and will lead to greater mutual understanding and cooperation on the many serious security challenges in the Middle East and beyond. 
As President of the General Assembly, I will convene an informal meeting of the plenary of the General Assembly to mark this important international day on 10 September 2015 under the overall theme “Towards Zero: Resolving the Contradictions”.     

Sam Kahamba Kutesa

Message by the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-­‐Test-­‐Ban Treaty Organization Lassina Zerbo for  the International Day Against Nuclear Tests 2015.

Banning nuclear weapons testing – an unfinished business In Japan earlier this month, I had the privilege to meet Makoto Takahara, who was 17 when the nuclear bomb detonated over his home city Hiroshima. Hearing his first-­‐hand account of the horrors he witnessed then once again put into sharp focus for me the threat posed by nuclear weapons. I am proud to support the Hibakusha, as the survivors are known, in calling on the world: No more Hiroshima; no more Nagasaki. The more than 2,000 nuclear tests conducted during the Cold War paved the way for the development of weapons that dwarf the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs in explosive power. Populations downwind from the test sites paid with their health and often their lives. One of the most affected areas was Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan.

August 29 marks the day of the first nuclear test at Semipalatinsk, as well as the site’s closure in 1991 by the newly independent Kazakhstan. At the country’s initiative, the date has been commemorated since 2010 as the International Day against Nuclear Tests. August 29 serves as reminder that banning nuclear testing remains unfinished business. The Comprehensive Nuclear-­‐Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), in spite of enjoying near-­‐universal support, has yet to become legally binding due to its exceptionally demanding entry into force clause, which prescribes that all 44 countries listed in the Treaty as nuclear technology holders must ratify. Of these, eight still remain: China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, and the United States.

The Treaty has nonetheless gone a long way in limiting and stigmatizing nuclear testing, largely due to a robust verification regime which is nearly fully operational. Only a handful of nuclear tests have been conducted since the Treaty was adopted in 1996 and only one country, North Korea, has tested in this century.

Entry into force of the Treaty will require political leadership and determination at all levels, but once the ban on all nuclear testing is a legal reality, the world will have taken the first concrete step towards answering the call of Hibakusha to banish nuclear weapons from the face of the earth, and to guarantee No more Hiroshima; no more Nagasaki.

Lassina Zerbo

Forum : International Day against Nuclear Tests - 29 August

Events :  Informal Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly  to mark the 2015 Observance of the International Day against Nuclear Tests, Thursday September 10th.

Exhibition : To mark this year’s International Day Against Nuclear Tests an exhibition of art related to nuclear testing and nuclear weapons by artists from Austria, China, Kazakhstan, and the United States was on display at the Vienna International Centre. It culminated in a formal event on the eve of the Day itself which was attended by a large number of representatives of the Vienna diplomatic community, NGOs and media. The Chinese Artists’ Association and the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan to the International Organizations in Vienna supported the exhibition and the event.

International Day against Nuclear Tests 2015 – Towards a Safer World