The International Day against Nuclear Tests was commemorated in Vienna

Vienna, August 29, 2024 – A thematic exhibition of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) Youth Group dedicated to the International Day against Nuclear Tests (IDANT) was held at the UN Office in Vienna. The event was initiated by the CTBTO, the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs and the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan to the International Organizations in Vienna.

In his remarks, the Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tileuberdi noted that the IDANT was initiated by Kazakhstan and approved by the UN General Assembly resolution in 2009. He also said that today the firm commitment of Kazakhstan and the CTBTO to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world was enshrined in a joint statement by Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan HE Mr Murat Nurtleu and CTBTO Executive Secretary Dr. Robert Floyd. After thanking the representatives of the CTBTO Youth Group for their creative work, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan joined the UN social media initiative - N.O.N.E. (Not One Nuclear Explosion).

CTBTO Executive Secretary Robert Floyd paid special attention to Kazakhstan's contribution to the global process of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. The head of the international organization stressed that the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in 1991 paved the way for the beginning of international efforts to ban nuclear tests worldwide and thanked the leadership of our country for its efforts to strengthen peace and stability.

The Chief of the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs in Vienna Rebecca Jovin conveyed the message of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the inadmissibility of the resumption of nuclear tests and called for more active education and information about the consequences of nuclear weapons test explosions and the need to stop them as one of the means to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.

The text of the joint statement of Kazakhstan and the CTBTO can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa/documents/details/713585?lang=en