The 5 W’s
U.S., China, and Korea still have NOT Agreed to a
Nuclear Testing Ban
by Randi Morse
Eight countries have yet to agree to a treaty
that bans nuclear testing, with the upcoming
International Day Against Nuclear Tests this 29th
of August.
The countries left to agree to the Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty include China, the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Egypt, Iran,
Israel, Pakistan, and the United States. The treaty
will not enter into force until all nuclear technology
holders have agreed to it.
There are 44 nation states that have been identified
as holding nuclear technology. “These countries
were listed as having or building nuclear power
reactors and/or nuclear research reactors at the
time the Treaty was negotiated,” said Gill Tudor,
the Senior Communication Advisor and Chief of
Public Information at Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-
Ban Treaty Organization.
The treaty has been signed by 183 countries,
meaning the country will continue with internal
approval, and it has been ratified by 164 of them,
which is an agreement to be bound to the treaty.
The International Day Against Nuclear Tests was
created when the United Nations General Assembly
unanimously adopted resolution 64/35 on 2
December 2009.
The resolution document stated that, its purpose is
to enhance “public awareness and education about
the effects of nuclear weapon test explosions or
any other nuclear explosions and the need for their
cessation as one of the means of achieving the goal
of a nuclear-weapon-free world.” This is due to the
“devastating and harmful effects on the lives and
health of people and the environment.”
chart: Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treat Organization
The 29th of August was selected as the
International Day Against Nuclear Tests because
this is the date the Soviet Union conducted its first
nuclear test in 1949. Kazakhstan, the state that
originally submitted the resolution to the United
Nations, had chosen this same date to permanently
close their Semipalatinsk test site in 1991.
44 nation states have
been identified as holding
nuclear technology.
“IDANT - International Day Against Nuclear
Tests- is a key date for the CTBTO (Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization) and
we’ll definitely be marking it again this year. The
shifting situation on COVID-19 means we don’t
yet know exactly what shape this will take, but the
main emphasis is likely to be more virtual than
physical,” said Tudor.
Did ya
know?
50% of nuclear
testing was done by
the U.S.
For more information
please visit www.un.org
Nuclear weapon testing first began on 16 July 1945.
Since then, almost 2000 have been tested as is
stated on the United Nations website.
The United Nations uses international days to
advocate humanitarian issues.
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