ASTANA (TCA) — From August 28 to September 2, Kazakhstan’s capital Astana will host the International Conference of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) entitled “Remembering the Past, Looking to the Future”. The conference coincides with the International Day against Nuclear Tests on August 29, which was introduced by the UN General Assembly in 2009 at the initiative of the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said.
The five-day conference will gather the Group of Eminent Persons (GEM) and the Youth Group (CYG) to discuss the role of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation towards building a lasting global peace, including by enhancing the status of the Treaty.
As explained by the official statement of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, “The Astana Conference offers an engaging platform for interaction between members of the GEM and CYG. The conference will aim to investigate potential spaces for cooperation between all participating groups to sustain momentum for the universalization and entry into force of the CTBT.”
The forum will adopt a Joint Declaration to mark the International Day against Nuclear Tests. Kazakhstan has arranged this conference with a view towards the consistent implementation of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation initiatives of President Nazarbayev. As stated in his Manifesto, The World. The 21st Century, “We should think hard about the future of our children and grandchildren. We must combine the efforts of governments, politicians, scientists, entrepreneurs, artists, and millions of people around the world in order to prevent a repetition of tragic mistakes of past centuries and spare the world from the threat of a war.”
Participants of the CTBTO Conference will visit the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site and the museum in the town of Kurchatov, the center of Soviet nuclear tests. This will enable young people to see firsthand the catastrophic impact of the testing of this weaponry on people and the environment. On August 31, participants of the Conference will meet with the leadership of the National Nuclear Centre of Kazakhstan and with young professionals in the field of nuclear security. On September 1, they will visit the testing ground and the seismic station of Krest.
