Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.11 / Trend /
The International Forum on Nuclear Weapons Free World will be held in Kazakh capital of Astana on Oct.12-13 to mark the historic 20th Anniversary of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site's closure and continuing its efforts aimed at completing elimination of the nuclear threat, Kazinform reported.
The Forum mainly aims at building international support for the UN resolution on proclaiming August 29 as the International Day against Nuclear Tests. The resolution calls for practical actions to remind the world of the terrible consequences of nuclear testing and to prevent testing in the future.
The Nuclear Weapons Free World Forum in Astana will attract government leaders, former heads of state, nuclear experts, leaders of international organizations, and anti-nuclear activists. Among the high-level officials to share their thoughts will be Yukio Amano, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Tibor Toth, executive secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO).
The 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly declared August 29 the International Day against Nuclear Tests through the unanimous adoption of its resolution on Dec.2, 2009. The Preamble of the resolution emphasizes that "every effort should be made to end nuclear tests in order to avert devastating and harmful effects on the lives and health of people" and that "the end of nuclear tests is one of the key means of achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world."
The International Day against Nuclear Tests is a result of the many recent developments at the bilateral and multilateral governmental levels emanating from civil society and the Secretary-General himself. The Day was proposed in 2009 by the Government of Kazakhstan.
Edited by S. Dadashova