International Day against Nuclear Tests
A UN day raising awareness of the devastating effects of nuclear testing on people and the environment, and calling for a nuclear-weapon-free world.
Date29 August
TopicPeace & Safety
Established2009
Ways to observe this day
- Read testimonies from survivors affected by nuclear testing
- Follow events by the UN and the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty Organization
- Raise awareness about the long-term health and environmental effects of nuclear tests
- Support nuclear disarmament initiatives and global peace organizations
On 2 December 2009, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 64/35, an initiative led by Kazakhstan, declaring 29 August each year the International Day against Nuclear Tests. The date marks the anniversary of the closure of the Semipalatinsk (Semey) nuclear test site in Kazakhstan in 1991 — the site of the first Soviet nuclear test in 1949 and more than 450 subsequent nuclear tests.
The day matters because, although most nuclear testing has stopped since the 1990s, it left long-lasting health and environmental effects on local populations and later generations in several regions worldwide, from Kazakhstan to the Pacific Islands and the Nevada desert. It aims to raise public awareness of these devastating effects and support international efforts toward a comprehensive and permanent ban on nuclear testing through the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
The day is marked through awareness events at UN headquarters and worldwide, testimonies from survivors affected by nuclear testing, and campaigns urging states that have not yet ratified the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty to do so.
