Nairobi, 2 September 2026 – A high-level meeting dedicated to the International Day against Nuclear Tests, established by the United Nations General Assembly at the initiative of Kazakhstan, was held at the United Nations Office at Nairobi. The event focused on the theme “Humanitarian and Environmental Consequences of Nuclear Weapons Use and Testing” and was held to mark the 35th anniversary of the closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site.

The event was attended by United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi Zainab Hawa Bangura, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Inger Andersen, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) Anacláudia Rossbach, as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps, international organizations and the media.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Republic of Kenya and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United Nations Office at Nairobi, Barlybay Sadykov, highlighted Kazakhstan’s significant contribution to global efforts towards nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. He emphasized that the closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site on 29 August 1991 represented Kazakhstan’s historic choice in favor of peace and security and marked the beginning of a new stage in international efforts to put an end to nuclear testing.

The Ambassador drew the participants’ attention to the address by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, on the occasion of the International Day against Nuclear Tests on 29 August 2026, in which the Head of State called for dialogue among nuclear-weapon States, the earliest possible entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), and decisive multilateral action to eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons use.

A special place in the programme was given to a thematic photo exhibition marking the 35th anniversary of the closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site, as well as the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The exhibition featured photographs and information documenting the history of nuclear testing, its humanitarian and environmental consequences, as well as Kazakhstan’s historic decision to close the test site.

The Organizing Committee for the Commemoration of the Victims of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bombings in Nairobi presented thematic materials on the history and consequences of the use of nuclear weapons in Japan.

Participants were shown a documentary film about the closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site.

The online testimonies of Japanese survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, known as hibakusha, had a profound emotional impact on the participants. They shared their personal accounts of the devastating effects of nuclear explosions on human health and the environment.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa-nairobi/press/news/details/1284596?lang=ru