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The 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly declared 29 August as the International Day against Nuclear Tests through the unanimous adoption of its resolution 64/35 on 2 December 2009. The Day is meant to galvanize the efforts of the United Nations, Member States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, youth networks and the media in informing, educating and advocating the necessity of banning nuclear tests as a valuable step to achieving a safer world. The Preamble of the resolution emphasizes "that every effort should be made to end nuclear tests in order to avert devastating and harmful effects on the lives and health of people …and, that the end of nuclear tests is one of the key means of achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world." The value of this goal was stated with great clarity by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, "A world free of nuclear weapons would be a global public good of the highest order." In May of 2010, all the States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, committed themselves to work to "achieve the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons" and they characterized achieving a ban on nuclear testing as "vital." Presently, some countries have unilaterally promised not to test but such a regime is unstable. Bringing into force the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which would forever ban any further nuclear weapon test explosion and any other nuclear explosion, would both advance nuclear disarmament efforts and strengthen the constraints on proliferation. The Treaty opened for signature and ratification in 1996. It is time for the few remaining countries that have not signed and ratified it to do so promptly. There have already been thousands of nuclear weapons tests and any further tests would give ongoing legitimacy to these horrific devices. Moreover, already nuclear weapons tests have caused environmental degradation and harmed the health of millions. The entire Southern hemisphere of the planet has become one virtual nuclear-weapons-free zone by virtue of regional treaties - the Treaty of Rarotonga, covering the South Pacific, the Treaty of Pelindaba, covering Africa, the Treaty of Bangkok covering South Asia and the Treaty of Tlatelolco, covering Latin America and the Caribbean. Recently we have witnessed the entry into force of the Central Asian Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone Treaty, the first such instrument situated entirely north of the Equator. The UN Secretary-General has included in his dynamic Five Point Proposal on Nuclear Disarmament a suggestion that it is time to advance toward making the entire world a nuclear-weapon-free zone through a nuclear weapons convention or framework of legal instruments. BackgroundThe Day's vision is an idea whose time has come, in view of many recent developments at the bilateral and multilateral governmental level emanating from broad movements in civil society, and from the Secretary-General himself. An initiative in 2007 by four eminent United States statesmen sparked national and international dialogue about the ideal of a world free of nuclear weapons and what it would take to get there. Their concerns were echoed by other leading world figures from Italy, Germany, France, United Kingdom and Poland. Norway initiated a dialogue at the governmental level that helped to maintain the momentum of attention to the issue. France and the United Kingdom have both announced stockpile reductions and the latter has committed to beginning a scientific examination of the kind of verification needed to reach a nuclear-weapon-free world. The establishment of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament by Australia and Japan provided a focused authoritative international expert review of proposals and recommendations on the issue for future action. The 1 April 2009 commitment by the Presidents of the United States and the Russian Federation to a nuclear-weapon-free world and to the fulfillment of their obligations under Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to further reductions and limits on their strategic offensive arms was hailed as a new beginning. President Obama's declaration on 5 April in Prague that the United States would pursue the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons deeply stirred the imagination of many around the globe, old and young alike. The New START Treaty was signed by Presidents Medvedev and Obama on 8 April earlier this year. Indeed, Japan's parliament unanimously adopted on 17 June 2009 a similar call and has urged its government to work harder to establish an effective international inspection system to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. "As we mark the first International Day against Nuclear Tests, I look forward to working with all partners in a growing global movement to rid the world of the nuclear threat, rein in rising spending on nuclear weapons and bring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty into force. We must stop passing this problem to succeeding generations; we must each do our part to build a safer, more secure world today." |
Message by CTBTO Executive Secretary Tibor Tóth Message by the Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon Official Website on the International Day Against Nuclear Tests |
