United Nations: International Day against Nuclear Tests, 29 August 2025
The International Day against Nuclear Tests is observed on August 29, established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2009 through unanimous Resolution 64/35. This observance aims to raise awareness about the devastating effects of nuclear tests and promote the cessation of such experiments as a means to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons. The initiative was proposed by Kazakhstan, a country that has heavily suffered the consequences of Soviet nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk site. The day is observed globally, with events organized worldwide by the United Nations, governments, non-governmental organizations, and civil society.
This day represents a significant opportunity to draw global public attention to the "devastating and harmful effects on human life, health, and the environment" caused by nuclear tests and the consequent need to end these tests. The legal instrument aimed at preventing these experiments, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), was adopted in 1996 but has not yet entered into force due to the lack of ratifications from China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, and the United States of America. Italy ratified it on February 1, 1999.
In recent years, significant progress and initiatives have been made in the field of nuclear disarmament. In 2021, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) entered into force, representing the first legally binding international agreement to completely prohibit the development, testing, production, stockpiling, stationing, transfer, use, and threat of use of nuclear weapons. In 2022, the first Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW was held in Vienna, strengthening the international commitment to disarmament. Furthermore, the tenth Review Conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2022 reaffirmed the importance of concrete progress towards nuclear disarmament. Concurrently, international organizations such as the CTBTO continue to enhance the global monitoring system to detect any nuclear tests, while civil society maintains high attention on these issues through awareness campaigns and pressure on governments.