Half the world is now a nuclear-weapon-free zone, and Kazakhstan has been instrumental in achieving it.
After signing the decree to close the nuclear control of Semipalatinsk through the will of others on 29 August 1991, Kazakhstan’s first president and head of the nation, Nursultan Nazarbayev, showed the world an example of a guilty and decisive technique for preserving peace. humanity.
Having experienced all the horrors of nuclear explosions at the Semipalatinsk checkpoint, which suffered 1.5 million people, Kazakhstan took the voluntary resolution to completely give up its arsenal of nuclear weapons, the fourth in the world at the time.
This resolution was made at a very difficult time. At that time, in the context of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the global bipolar order, the factor of ensuring the security of newly formed independent countries was very acute. And the presence of nuclear weapons in Kazakhstan has been noted by many as a guarantee of the country’s independence and integrity. In addition, Kazakhstan’s army and defense industry leaders were in favor of preserving arsenals.
In particular, the closure of one of the world’s largest control sites paved the way for the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTT).
During this transition period, Kazakhstan’s leaders faced the task of building a new state, formalizing the state border very well, creating their own national currency, ensuring economic progression, and a coherent foreign and internal policy.
History has shown that Nursultan Nazarbayev made the right decision. Its resolution was an occasion of global importance, as demonstrated by the fact that on 2 December 2009, the United Nations General Assembly followed a solution pointing to 29 August International Day against Nuclear Tests.
Our country is a member of all primary nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation treaties. Last year, Kazakhstan ratified the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty (NPT), which represents a new truth and declares nuclear weapons illegal.
Today, thousands of others are around Nazarbayev’s global initiative, the “Abolish Testing: Our Mission”, which demands joint global efforts in combat to completely stop nuclear tests and completely give up nuclear power. . Weapons
The closure of the Semipalatinsk checkpoint, the abandonment of the nuclear arsenal and Nursultan Nazarbayev’s upcoming projects towards a nuclear-weapon-free world have given a strong impetus to the global anti-nuclear movement. The combined efforts of the proponents of this procedure have led to the expansion of the geography of nuclear-weapon-free zones, namely in Latin America, the South Pacific Ocean, South Asia, Africa and Central Asia.
Kazakhstan’s current president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, a supporter of global nuclear disarmament, has followed Nazarbayev’s anti-nuclear initiatives.
President Tokayev focused on these projects in his first speech as head of state at the United Nations General Assembly in 2019. He said Nazarbayev’s initiative to rid the world of nuclear weapons fully until 2045 had already discovered a large number of supporters among political leaders and within the broader global community.
On the eve of the 30th anniversary of the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear control site, President Tokayev called on the global network to the provisions of the Universal Declaration on the Construction of a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World, and stressed that it is a roadmap for greater global insurance. Future. He noted that Kazakhstan was also committed to strengthening cooperation between nuclear-weapon-free zones and contributed to the creation of new nuclear-weapon-free zones around the world.
Overall, 2019 was characterized by a number of positive events. On the anniversary, the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBT) Lassina Zerbo and the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano won the “Nazarbayev Award for a World Without Nuclear Weapons and Global Security”.
In addition, on 29 August last year, the Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan, Kairat Umarov, presented the document on the ratification of the NPT to the United Nations Secretariat in New York.
This year, the COVID-19 pandemic reached the occasions planned to mark International Nuclear Testing Day. Due to the fitness crisis, the occasions are positioning themselves online.
On 26 August, a videoconvention was held with the participation of the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, former Finnish President Tarja Halonen, THE EXECUTIVE Secretary of the OTICE, Lassina Zerbo, and the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, who read a MESSAGE from the UN. Secretary-General Guterre. I had the honor of speaking on behalf of Nursultan Nazarbayev.
It is symbolic that at this conference, Mr. Zerbo officially introduced Nursultan Nazarbayev and Tarja Halonen in a new exclusive capability: “Champions of a world without nuclear tests, of a world without nuclear weapons”.
In addition, on the day of nuclear control abroad, official videoconferencing events are planned in the capitals of the United States and the United Kingdom. On September 2, two U.S. NGOs “Arms Control Association” and “Center for Policy Research (SUNY-Albany)” will hold a webinar in Washington on “Strengthening the Nuclear-Test Ban Rule”. In addition, a webinar will be held in London on 8 September on “Multilateral Cooperation in the Post-COVID-19 Era: A Possibility for a World Without Nuclear Weapons”.
Ultimately, International Nuclear Test Day, along with other occasions and activities, contributes to the formation of a global environment that opens up more positively for progress towards a nuclear-weapon-free world.
He is Kazakhstan’s foreign minister, Mukhtar Tleuberdi.