CTBTO's Executive Secretary and Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Reaffirm Commitment to Nuclear Weapons Free World
In a joint statement, Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi and CTBTO Executive Secretary Robert Floyd reaffirmed their commitment to a nuclear weapons-free world. In a joint statement released on Aug. 29 to mark the International Day Against Nuclear Tests, the two reiterated their determination to enact the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
CTBTO Executive Secretary Robert Floyd urges all countries of the world to bring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty into force. / Picture: © CTBTO / Flickr [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)]
On 29 August 1991, Kazakhstan and the international community closed the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. As a result of this event, the CTBT was adopted in 1996 as a result of strong international efforts. The CTBT and its verification regime have been consistently supported by Kazakhstan since its adoption.
Additionally, the National Nuclear Center (NNC), which operates five IMS stations in Kazakhstan and administers the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
In celebration of theInternational Day Against Nuclear Tests, the Kazakh Mission to the UN in Vienna organized a guided tour through the UN Headquarters in Vienna and New York.
On Int'l Day against Nuclear Tests, @KazakhstanUN & @UN_Disarmament organised a guided tour of the @UN HQ for participants of #StepUp4Disarmament campaign.
— Kazakh Mission to UN (@KazakhstanUN) August 29, 2022
The Day serves as a special forum to create awareness on the dangers of nuclear tests and weapons, the need to abolish them pic.twitter.com/KyiqOzxfKR
There has been much progress towards universalizing the CTBT with 186 signatures and 173 ratifications. The ratifications of the Treaty by Gambia, Tuvalu, Dominica and Timor-Leste reflect a successful collective effort by all stakeholders on the 25th anniversary of the Treaty. The verification regime is almost complete. Though CTBT and nuclear testing norms have not yet become legally binding, they are virtually universal.
Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi and CTBTO Executive Secretary Robert Floyd reaffirmed the CTBT's role as a key pillar of the nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime within the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Review process. According to them, the CTBT is an effective and practical measure to achieve a world without nuclear weapons.
In the joint statement of Kazakhstan and CTBTO, it stresses that all States are invited to attend the high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly to commemorate and promote the International Day against Nuclear Tests at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, which will take place on 7 September 2022.
Kazakhstan and CTBTO call on all States to continue to observe the moratoria on nuclear explosions. According to Tileuberdi and Floyd, it is urgent, that those States that have not yet signed and/or ratified the Treaty do so without delay. They call on the eight remaining Annex 2 States, whose ratifications are required for entry into force of the CTBT, "to demonstrate their commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament by taking this important step in support of international peace and security."
On this International Day Against Nuclear Tests, we are reminded of the devastating consequences that #nucleartests and weapons produce. Let’s reaffirm our commitment to global nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament as a priority for a better future for all. #IDANT https://t.co/ehdKui9l9j
— Robert Floyd (@_RobFloyd) August 29, 2022
The final words of the statement read, "It is high time to bring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty into force to advance nuclear disarmament and create a safer and more secure world for future generations – a shared goal of humanity in the 21st century."
In a Video statement by CTBTO Executive Secretary Robert Floyd on the International Day Against Nuclear Tests, Floyd stresses, "We can choose to end nuclear testing. It is within our power to ensure that future generations never know the devastation of a nuclear weapon by closing the door forever on nuclear weapon testing. Today, let’s recommit ourselves to this cause and to finish what we’ve started.”