New York, 3 September 2025 – A high-level plenary meeting marking the fifteenth anniversary of the International Day against Nuclear Tests was held at United Nations Headquarters. This year’s observance assumed particular significance as it coincided with the 80th anniversary of the first nuclear explosion and the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. From the General Assembly podium, Member States expressed profound appreciation to Kazakhstan for its initiative in establishing and annually convening this forum, as well as for its steadfast contribution to strengthening the global disarmament and non-proliferation regime.

President of the General Assembly Philemon Yang recalled that between 1945 and 1996 more than two thousand nuclear tests were conducted worldwide, inflicting severe harm on human health and causing lasting environmental contamination. He underscored that Kazakhstan’s historic decision of 29 August 1991 to close the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site represented a decisive turning point in global efforts to end the nuclear testing race.

The United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, speaking on behalf of the Secretary-General, underlined that the International Day against Nuclear Tests, established at Kazakhstan’s initiative, is not only a day of remembrance but also an effective international platform for advancing the goal of a world free of nuclear testing. She noted that Kazakhstan, by its own example – including its leadership of key sessions of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons – has convincingly demonstrated that prohibiting nuclear tests is not simply a technical matter, but a moral and strategic imperative.

The Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, Robert Floyd, stressed that the Treaty remains the only universal, legally binding instrument designed to end nuclear testing. He noted that it has succeeded in halting the practice of nuclear explosions and in establishing a unique global verification system comprising more than 300 certified facilities, five of which are located in Kazakhstan. On 29 August, he joined Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan,  Murat Nurtleu, in issuing a joint statement that reaffirmed their determination to secure the Treaty’s entry into force and to further strengthen its verification regime. They also called on States to maintain moratoria on nuclear testing and to accelerate the ratification process.

Kazakhstan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Kairat Umarov, conveyed the words of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who stressed that the tragedy of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site must never be repeated. He underlined: “For the sake of future generations, we must strengthen peace, promote international cooperation, and take efforts towards a complete ban of nuclear tests”. Ambassador Umarov also recalled the Semipalatinsk Treaty establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia as a practical embodiment of this policy, as well as the joint initiative of Kazakhstan and Kiribati to establish an International trust fund for victim assistance and environmental remediation.

At the traditional reception hosted by Kazakhstan’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations on the occasion of the International Day against Nuclear Tests, participants included senior UN Secretariat officials, Permanent Representatives of Member States, and representatives of the expert community and civil society. In their statements, distinguished guests Izumi Nakamitsu and Robert Floyd emphasized that this Day has become a respected international platform for consolidating global efforts in pursuit of a world free from nuclear testing and the threat of its resumption.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa-kazakhstanun/press/news/details/1062338?lang=kk