For information only – not an official document
UNIS/SGSM/1613
26 August 2026
This day reminds us of the devastating consequences of nuclear testing — lessons humanity has learned through bitter experience.
It is a time to reflect on the victims and survivors of nuclear testing, whose lives, lands and descendants have been scarred by nuclear explosions.
Their suffering is not history. It is a warning.
At this moment of geopolitical tension, division and distrust, it is more important than ever that we heed that warning.
This year marks thirty years since the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty opened for signature and 35 years since the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. Such milestones remind us that humanity can and must choose restraint over ruin.
Nuclear tests do not prove strength. They shatter trust, invite reciprocal tests, fuel a nuclear arms race and betray every community still living with the legacy of past nuclear tests.
The world must never witness another nuclear explosion.
I call on all States possessing nuclear weapons to maintain existing moratoria and act to bring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty into force without delay.
Let’s remember why this Day exists.
Let’s re-commit to ending nuclear testing.
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The thirteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) will be held from 19 to 23 October 2026 at the Vienna International Centre, Austria.
The Fifteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice concluded today with more than 60 countries agreeing time-bound actions to strengthen criminal justice responses, expand access to justice and improve international cooperation to tackle global crime threats.
The Fifteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice opened today with the adoption of the Abu Dhabi Declaration, a forward-looking global framework to strengthen international criminal justice cooperation against fast-evolving crime challenges and exploitation of digital technologies.
"It's time to choose dialogue over division, diplomacy over confrontation, and disarmament over destruction. States that possess nuclear weapons must honour their disarmament obligations and commit to the total elimination of nuclear weapons." — António Guterres
