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 treatythat bans nuclear testing, with the upcoming International Day Against Nuclear Tests this 29th of August.

image: Pixabay

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 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.”

44 nation states have been identified as holding nuclear technology

graph: Arms Control Association

The 29th of August was selected as the International Day Against Nuclear Tests because this is the date the Soviet Unios 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.

“IDANT - International Day Against Nuclear Tests- is a key date for the CTBTO (Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization) and we’ll definetly 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.

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.

GIF source: simpsonsworld.com via Giphy