8 September 2026, Geneva – The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United Nations Office at Geneva, in partnership with the missions of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, held an event marking the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia (CANWFZ), also known as the Semipalatinsk Treaty.

The event was attended by representatives of States parties to the nuclear-weapon-free zones in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and the South Pacific, nuclear-weapon States, Member States of the Conference on Disarmament, as well as international and non-governmental organizations.

Erzhan Kazykhan, Kazakhstan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, and Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, delivered welcoming remarks to the participants.

Kazakhstan’s Ambassador highlighted his country’s contribution to global efforts in the field of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, as well as the political and practical significance of the Semipalatinsk Treaty. He noted the importance of further strengthening Central Asia’s nuclear-weapon-free status and expanding cooperation among existing nuclear-weapon-free zones, including the exchange of experiences and the promotion of joint approaches.

The participants discussed the role of the Semipalatinsk Treaty in strengthening the international nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament regime, as well as the prospects for cooperation among nuclear-weapon-free zones.

The Treaty on the Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone was signed on 8 September 2006 by the Foreign Ministers of five Central Asian states in Semipalatinsk; since then, it has been referred to in international circles as the “Semipalatinsk Treaty”.

This year, in addition to Geneva, similar events are being held in Vienna and New York. They are timed to coincide with key 2026 anniversaries: the 35th anniversary of the closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site, the 20th anniversary of the Semipalatinsk Treaty, and the 30th anniversary of the opening for signature of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa-geneva/press/news/details/1287997?lang=ru