The International Day Against Nuclear Tests, marked annually on 29 August, draws attention to the plight of people impacted by the after effects of nuclear tests to rally global support to end such tests.

Against this backdrop, UN News’s Elena Vapnitchnaia spoke to Ambassador Kairat Umarov, Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the UN, on the impact of over 450 nuclear tests conducted in his country and Kazakhstan’s efforts to work with the wider international community on enhancing public awareness and education about the effects of nuclear weapon test explosions. 

Mr. Umarov also spoke about the importance of multilateral instruments such as the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear-Weapons (TPNW).

He started off explaining the long-lasting and devastating environmental consequences of nuclear tests.