Citing Legacy of Destruction, Secretary-General, in Observance Message, Says World Must Speak with One Voice to Finally End Nuclear Testing

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day against Nuclear Tests, observed on 29 August:

Across nearly eight decades, more than 2,000 nuclear tests were conducted at more than 60 sites around the world.  These tests left a legacy of destruction, rendering lands uninhabitable and creating long-term health problems for people. 

Recent calls for the resumption of nuclear testing demonstrate that the terrible lessons of the past are being forgotten — or ignored. 

On the International Day Against Nuclear Tests, the world must speak with one voice to end this practice once and for all.

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty is the only prohibition on all nuclear testing, and an essential, verifiable security tool.  But it is not yet in force.

In the name of the victims of nuclear tests and future generations, I call on all countries whose ratifications are needed for the Treaty to enter into force to do so — immediately and without conditions.  Let’s pass the test for humanity — and ban nuclear testing for good.