General Assembly Informal Meeting Commemorating Sixth Annual International Day against Nuclear Tests to Showcase Global Non-Proliferation Efforts

The International Day against Nuclear Tests will be observed on 10 September at United Nations Headquarters.  This year’s official opening ceremony, marked by an informal meeting, will be convened by the President of the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly, Sam Kutesa, and organized in cooperation with the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In its resolution 64/35, the General Assembly designated 29 August as a day to commemorate against nuclear tests, as a result of the closing on that date in 1991 of Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan, one of the largest nuclear weapon test sites in the world.

The sixth annual International Day against Nuclear Tests will showcase efforts of the United Nations and partners and other stakeholders, including Member States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, youth networks and the media, in informing and educating on the importance of the nuclear weapon test ban with the aim of achieving worldwide security.

Around the globe, advocates for a nuclear-weapon-free world will be organizing and participating in activities ranging from debates and exhibits to conferences and competitions to call attention to the urgent imperative for the international community to rally in support of banning nuclear weapons testing once and for all.

The opening ceremony will be followed by a high-level panel, featuring experts in the field of arms control and non-proliferation, which will focus on the theme of “Towards Zero: Resolving the Contradictions”.  Speakers will present observations and comments from their perspective on ways to promote progress and achieve common ground among different approaches towards nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

This year’s theme is especially apropos with regard to the outcome of the 2015 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), in which parties to the treaty were unable to reach a consensus.  In a statement to the Review Conference, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said, on behalf of the Secretary-General, that “it is especially troubling that recent developments indicate that the trend towards nuclear zero is reversing.  Instead of progress towards new arms reduction agreements, we have allegations about destabilizing violations of existing agreements.”  This failure to come to an agreement highlights the urgency of the situation and the need to promote cooperation within the international community towards advancing the goals of the NPT.

The informal meeting is open to all diplomats, think tanks, the academic community, civil society and the media.

The complete programme can be found at: www.un.org/en/events/againstnucleartestsday/2015/events.shtml.

For further information on the Day and on the nuclear tests-related issues, please visit www.un.org/en/no-nucleartests, which is available in all six UN official languages.

Contacts:  United Nations Department of Public Information, Donna Cusumano, cusumanod@un.org; United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, Ewen Buchanan, buchanane@un.org.