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programme and action plan
for the development of the
Semipalatinsk region.

hi the appeal, the participants
noted that the United Nations
announcement of 29 August
as the International Day
against Nuclear Tests will
contribute to nuclear disarma-
ment, non-proliferation and a
nuclear test ban worldwide,
and facilitate achieving a
nuclear-weapons-free world.

Statement by H.E. Kanat Saudabayev at the Conference dedicated to
the observance of the International Day against Nuclear Tests and
19th anniversary of the closing of the Semipalatinsk test site

Your Excellencies, ceremony of signing the Kazakhstan's proposal at the tes, which have not yet
Ladies and Gentlemen, Central Asian Nuclear UN, especially to those signed or ratified the Treaty,
Weapon Free Zone Treaty countries that have co-spon- to do so.
I wish to use this opportuni- in Semipalatinsk. Thus, not sored the resolution. We
ty to warmly welcome you only Kazakhstan, but also consider the adoption of this In this regard, we express
to the capital of Kazakhstan, our entire region has fore- resolution as our joint our hope that the U.S.
Astana, and to wish the first ver become free from mili- contribution to the process Senate will indeed ratify the
international conference on tary atom. of reducing the global Treaty introduced by
the International Day nuclear threat and the entry President Barack Obama,
against Nuclear Tests suc- For 40 years, 456 nuclear into force of the which will serve as an
cessful and fruitful delibera- explosions were carried out Comprehensive Test Ban important example for other
tions. at the Semipalatinsk test Treaty. countries. We also apprecia-
site. Nearly one and a half te the decision of Indonesia
Beyond any doubts, the million people have been In the years since that Treaty to ratify the Treaty. The
nuclear test ban issue comes affected by the consequen- was signed in 1996 it has early entry into force of the
out on top among major ces of nuclear testing and covered an uneasy but CTBT will be one of the key
issues of global security. an immense territory com- nevertheless a successful areas of effective implemen-
Against this backdrop, we parable to the size of path. Nowadays, 182 coun- tation of the Treaty on the
feel especially proud of the modern Germany has been tries around the world joined Non-Proliferation of
fact that this process was contaminated with radia- the Treaty and 153 have Nuclear Weapons, the most
significantly contributed to tion. That is why our peo- completed their internal pro- important document upon
by the Republic of ple like no one else know cedures to bring the Treaty which the security of all
Kazakhstan and its President the true cost of nuclear tes- into force. This testifies to mankind rests.
ting.
Nazarbayev,
Nursultan the fact that the ongoing
when in 1991 he issued a work of the CTBTO is A voluntary moratorium on
decree permanently closing It is very symbolic that actually close to completion. nuclear testing observed by
down one of the largest eighteen years after the clo- However, some rather the world powers today,
nuclear test sites in the sure of the Semipalatinsk influential states still abstain though an important factor
world and later made a deci- nuclear test site August 29, from signing and ratifying of nuclear security, is clearly
sion to voluntarily renounce at the initiative of our the CTBT, which allows the insufficient and can not
the world's fourth largest President who made that recognized nuclear weapon serve as an alternative to a
nuclear arsenal. As accurate- wise and courageous deci- states to continue nuclear legally binding document
ly noted by our President, sion, was declared by the testing and the threshold sta- such as the CTBT.
from that moment on UN General Assembly as tes to develop their own
Kazakhstan has become "the the International Day nuclear missile programs Ladies and Gentlemen,
epicenter of peace". against Nuclear Tests. with impunity. Now that the 29th of August
is the International Day of
It was a deeply symbolic We are grateful to everyone Today, we must put our joint Actions, we should all ask
and rightful act to hold the who has supported efforts to convince the sta- ourselves: what else should

4 1 2011 Diva

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