“Nuclear tests remain a threat to human health and global stability,” stated UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, marking The International Day against Nuclear Tests. Iterating that the annual observance on 29 August remains “an important opportunity to call attention to their harmful and long-lasting effects as well as the continued danger posed by the existence of tens of thousands of nuclear weapons,” the Secretary-General urged States that have not yet signed and ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), to do so without delay.
The CTBT, which aims to establish a verifiable, permanent global ban on all types of nuclear explosive tests, enjoys near-universal support but has yet to enter into force.
Ban Ki-moon’s statement built upon his op-ed article of 27 August entitled, “The World is Over-Armed and Peace is Under-funded". Reiterating his disappointment over the failure of the recent Arms Trade Treaty and his concern at the growing chasm on arms spending and international development expenditure, the Secretary-General added that, “The failure of these negotiations and this month’s anniversaries of the atomic bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki provide a good opportunity to explore what has gone wrong, why disarmament and arms control have proven so difficult to achieve, and how the world community can get back on track towards these vitally important goals.”
