Kazakh and German Experts Discuss Kazakhstan’s Global Role within the Context of the International Day against Nuclear Tests
BERLIN / NUR-SULTAN, 26 August 2021 – On the occasion of the International Day against Nuclear Tests and the 30th anniversary of the closing of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site (SNTS), the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Germany held an online high-level round table discussion “Planet Earth – Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone”. Taking part in the discussions were Bundestag deputy and the German Government’s Coordinator for Intersocietal Cooperation with Russia, Central Asia and the Eastern Partnership Countries, Johann Saathoff, the Director General of the National Nuclear Centre of Kazakhstan, Dr. Erlan Batyrbekov, Head of the Department for Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation at the German Foreign Office, Robert Siegfried, the Executive Director of the International Peace Bureau, Reiner Brown, the founder and Director of the Center for International Security and Policy (CISP), Alimzhan Akhmetov, as well as experts, journalists, Kazakh and German NGOs, and public figures.
Opening the discussions, Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Germany, Dauren Karipov, provided the participants with a historical overview of the SNTS and our country’s global initiatives, for which it has received international recognition as a champion of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation causes. After gaining independence, Kazakhstan not only immediately joined the NPT, CTBT and other major international treaties, but also voluntarily renounced the world's fourth nuclear arsenal, which it had inherited after the collapse of the USSR.
Moreover, Kazakhstan initiated the establishment of the Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (CANWFZ) – the first and to this day the largest zone of its kind in the northern hemisphere. The corresponding CANWFZ Treaty was signed in Semipalatinsk in 2006 and legally obliges the countries of the region to refrain from producing, acquiring, testing or possessing nuclear weapons.
“Since gaining independence, our country has demonstrated a unique developmental model, backed by a firm commitment to peace and support for global security”, Ambassador Karipov stressed.
In his opening statement, Johann Saathoff gave high marks to the role played by Kazakhstan in the international disarmament agenda and expressed support for efforts to further popularize the International Day against Nuclear Tests.
“Kazakhstan is one of the most active and important partners of the international community on all issues of nuclear disarmament,” he said.
Speakers at the subsequent expert panel discussion examined the necessary conditions for our planet’s transformation into a nuclear-weapon-free zone. Kazakhstan calls on the international community to achieve such a goal by the UN’s centenary in 2045.
Dr. Erlan Batyrbekov’s presentation was focused on the work of the National Nuclear Centre to support Kazakhstan's peaceful atom policies. Particular attention was paid to Kazakhstan’s joint work with specialized international organizations, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization, including vis-à-vis the completion of radioecological monitoring of the territory of the former SNTS by the end of this year, as well as the deployment of a global monitoring system for nuclear explosions.
Robert Siegfried briefed participants about Germany’s activities within the framework of its co-chairmanship of the Stockholm Initiative – an association of 16 states, which also includes Kazakhstan, that call on nuclear powers to take all possible steps to ensure their complete disarmament. In this regard, he noted the active participation of the Kazakh side in the regular ministerial meeting of the Stockholm Initiative, held on 5 July 2021 in Madrid.
The Chief Researcher of the Kazakh Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Professor Murat Laumulin, framed the discussions in a geopolitical context, explaining the reasons behind decisions to close the SNTS, and neutralize nuclear installations, warheads and highly enriched uranium located on Kazakhstan’s territory.
“The nuclear issue intersected issues of geopolitics, security, international law, economics, energy and ecology. Kazakhstan belongs to a small group of states, which pursue an active foreign policy and have considerable weight and capabilities in the atomic energy sphere”, the expert noted.
Next to take the floor was Reiner Braun, the Executive Director of the International Peace Bureau – the organization is a Nobel laureate and one of the oldest and key platforms for global cooperation on nuclear non-proliferation issues. According to the activist, who this year became a member of the Kazak-backed Global Alliance of Leaders for Nuclear Security and a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World, "humanity must face a paradigm shift in international politics – a move away from confrontation towards common security".
For his part, Alimzhan Akhmetov shared information on the activities of the CISP to develop an international legal framework conducive for a nuclear-weapon-free world, and touched upon various research and educational projects. The speakers and guests were keen to learn about the SNTS visits that the Center and its Kazakh and international partners jointly organize for foreign diplomats and experts.
“There will be no winners or losers in a nuclear war,” the expert emphasized.
The closing remarks were made by the Director of Eurasian Management Solutions and the former Head of the Representative Office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Kazakhstan (2015-2020) Thomas Helm, who shared his personal work experience in Kazakhstan in the context of nuclear issues. Among other things, he noted the need to rehabilitate the city of Semey to improve the prospects for youth.