In a statement for the International Day against Nuclear Tests, which is commemorated every year on August 29, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the “forever” prohibition of nuclear testing on Thursday.
More than 2,000 nuclear tests were carried out at more than 60 locations worldwide over the course of roughly eight decades, according to Guterres’ statement, leaving “a legacy of destruction, rendering lands uninhabitable and creating long-term health problems for people.” The UN chief warned that recent calls for the resumption of nuclear testing demonstrate that the terrible lessons of the past “are being forgotten, or ignored.” “On the International Day against Nuclear Tests, the world must speak with one voice to end this practice once and for all,” he stressed. Guterres bemoaned, “But it is not yet in force,” pointing out that the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty is the sole legally binding ban on all nuclear testing and a crucial, verifiable security measure.
“In the name of the victims of nuclear tests and future generations, I call on all countries whose ratifications are needed for the Treaty to enter into force to do so — immediately and without conditions,” added Guterres. “Let’s pass the humanity test and permanently outlaw nuclear testing.
