Astana and Vienna, 29 August 2024
- On this International Day against Nuclear Tests, established by the United Nations General Assembly at the initiative of the Republic of Kazakhstan, we reaffirm our commitment to achieving a world free of nuclear tests, and strive to strengthen our efforts to bring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) into force.
- Kazakhstan’s historic decision to close the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site on 29 August 1991 sent a powerful political message and played a crucial role in broader global efforts that led to the adoption of the CTBT in 1996. Since then, Kazakhstan has consistently supported the Treaty and the build-up of its verification regime.
- Over the past year, important progress has been made towards the universalization of the CTBT. Today, the Treaty has received 187 signatures and 178 ratifications. We are pleased that in the past 12 months Papua New Guinea has ratified, and Somalia has signed the CTBT, adding further momentum to our cause and building on the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders. Each additional commitment to the Treaty serves to reinforce the powerful norm that has been established against nuclear testing.
- We also welcome continued progress towards the completion of the CTBT’s verification regime. With 306 monitoring stations and radionuclide laboratories now certified and operational worldwide, the network is over 90 per cent complete. The CTBTO International Monitoring System (IMS) is a unique global asset, contributing to peace and security, while also providing civil and scientific benefits for all. Kazakhstan’s practical contribution to strengthening the CTBT verification regime is evident in the five stations it hosts as part of the IMS.
- We also look forward to Sri Lanka hosting the next On-Site Inspection Integrated Field Exercise (IFE25), the largest practical exercise planned by the CTBTO, and the third of its kind after IFE08 in Kazakhstan and IFE14 in Jordan. On-Site Inspection will be a vital component of the verification regime after the Treaty’s entry into force, providing definitive confirmation as to whether a nuclear test explosion has occurred.
- We reaffirm the CTBT’s role as a key pillar of the nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The CTBT represents an effective and practical measure in our pursuit of a world free from nuclear weapons tests. As a consistent supporter of global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, Kazakhstan successfully chaired the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the 11th Review Conference of the Parties to the NPT in 2024 and will chair the third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in March 2025.
- We emphasize the successful outcome of the Workshop entitled «Fostering Cooperation and Enhancing Consultation: Mechanisms Among the Existing Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zones» co-organized by the Government of Kazakhstan and the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs on 27-28 August 2024 in Astana, Kazakhstan. Representatives of nuclear-weapon-free zones, the International Atomic Energy Agency, CTBTO and other key stakeholders gathered to discuss measures and mechanisms to further strengthen cooperation, coordination and complementarity between existing zones, as well as opportunities and ideas for establishing future nuclear-weapon-free zones, including in the Middle East.
- Today, we extend an invitation to all States to participate in the high-level plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly to commemorate the International Day against Nuclear Tests, scheduled to be held at UN Headquarters in New York on 4 September 2024.
- We call upon all States to uphold and, where possible, reaffirm their existing moratoria on nuclear testing. Those States that have not yet signed and/or ratified the CTBT are encouraged to promptly do so. We urge the remaining Annex 2 States that are crucial for the Treaty's entry into force to demonstrate their commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament by taking this significant step.
- We welcome the messages of the President of the UN General Assembly and the UN Secretary-General on the occasion of the International Day against Nuclear Tests, and encourage all interested stakeholders, including diplomats, academia, media and non-governmental organizations, to raise awareness about the catastrophic dangers and risks of nuclear testing.
- This is a crucial moment. We must all work together to bring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty into force, to ensure a permanent and legally binding end to nuclear testing, and to strive toward a future without nuclear weapons.