At the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, global leaders and experts gathered to mark the International Day against Nuclear Tests, a reminder of the urgent need to halt nuclear explosive testing in a world overshadowed by conflict and mistrust.
"Today's commemoration takes place in a world overshadowed by conflict, mistrust and the looming shadow of nuclear weapons," said Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Undersecretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, representing UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. She underlined that banning nuclear tests is not just technical, but "a moral and strategic necessity."
Nearly 80 years after the first nuclear detonation and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, not a single nuclear weapon has been used in combat. But the planet still bears scars: over 2,000 tests have left their mark—an average of one test per week during the Cold War.
"Since the opening of the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, fewer than a dozen tests have occurred," Robert Floyd, executive secretary of the CTBT Organization, told the assembly, calling the treaty "a triumph for science, for multilateralism, for humanity."
Beyond disarmament, nuclear science offers peaceful advances: diagnosing and curing diseases, feeding the hungry, protecting ecosystems, and generating clean energy. Vivian Okeke, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency Liaison Office in New York, stressed that safe, secure nuclear technology is vital for global progress.
On August 29, 2009, the UNGA declared this date the International Day against Nuclear Tests to raise awareness about the effects of nuclear explosions and to push for a nuclear-weapon-free world. As geopolitical tensions persist, the call is clear: choose science and solidarity over tests.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
