August 29 - International Day against Nuclear Tests

In 2009, the 64th session of the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring August 29 as the International Day against Nuclear Tests. The document was prepared on the initiative of Kazakhstan, and 26 states, including Belarus, became its co-sponsors. The resolution calls for active education and informing people about the terrible consequences of nuclear tests and preventing their resumption in the future.

The date of August 29 was not chosen by chance. It was on this day in 1991 that the largest Semipalatinsk nuclear test site was closed in Kazakhstan. This decision gave a strong impetus to the development of the global anti-nuclear movement.

The testing of atomic weapons left a deep scar in the history of Kazakhstan. Since 1949, hundreds of nuclear explosions have been conducted at the Semipalatinsk Test Site, including on the surface and in the atmosphere. They have caused irreparable damage to human health and the natural environment. Radioactive fallout had spread to areas where up to two million people lived. The Republic of Kazakhstan had to expend considerable efforts to eliminate the consequences of the nuclear tests, rehabilitate the affected citizens and restore the environment. However, the distant effects of radiation on human health are still manifesting themselves generations later.   

On August 28, 2024 in Astana, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan K.K.Tokayev met with the UN Under-Secretary-General, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu.

During the meeting, the President of Kazakhstan noted that the International Day against Nuclear Tests is intended to remind all mankind of the danger of nuclear testing and the use of nuclear weapons. K.K.Tokayev emphasized that Kazakhstan takes a principled position on disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.  In this regard, our country is committed to close cooperation with the UN institutions and considers this Organization as an alternative and universal international structure.