New York: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a message for the International Day against Nuclear Tests, which is observed on August 29th each year, has made a strong call to permanently ban nuclear testing.
Guterres highlighted that over nearly eight decades, the world has seen over 2,000 nuclear tests at more than 60 locations, which have left behind a trail of devastation, making lands uninhabitable and causing long-standing health issues for populations.
The UN leader expressed concern over the recent suggestions to resume nuclear testing, indicating that the grim lessons of history are being disregarded or forgotten.
He emphasized that on the International Day Against Nuclear Tests, the global community must unite and put an end to this practice once and for all.
Guterres pointed out that the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty stands as the sole ban on all nuclear tests and is a crucial tool for security that can be verified, yet it still has not come into effect.
In honour of the victims of nuclear tests and for the sake of future generations, he urged all nations whose ratifications are necessary for the Treaty’s enactment to do so immediately and unconditionally. Guterres concluded by urging to meet the challenge for humanity and prohibit nuclear testing permanently.
