KAZAKHSTAN CALLS ON THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY TO SUPPORT NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION

Astana, August 10: Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released the following statement on August 6 to mark the 67^th anniversary of the atomic attack on Japan:

“August 6 1945 will forever be recorded in the history of humankind as a day of tragedy for the Japanese nation, which suffered from the atomic attacks of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For almost 70 years now, this has been a day of remembrance and sorrow.

The people of Kazakhstan, being the first to experience the tragedies of nuclear tests, can empathize with the pain and suffering that the Japanese nation had to endure. From 1949 to 1989, over the 40 years that the Semipalatinsk test site was in operation, there were more than 450 nuclear explosions which affected more than one million people. On August 29^th 1991, by the will of the nation and the decree of President N. Nazarbayev, the test site was closed forever. We are grateful to the Japanese nation for the help they gave us in eliminating the effects of nuclear testing.

Hiroshima and Semey have become not only symbols of tragedy, but also of the struggle against nuclear threats. Together with Japan and other members of the global community, Kazakhstan is actively and consistently conducting a policy aimed at freeing human kind from nuclear weapons and strengthening the non-proliferation regime.

In 2009, on Kazakhstan’s initiative, a resolution was adopted at the UN General Assembly to make August 29^th the International Day of Action Against Nuclear Tests. Each year on this day events are held to remind the world of the terrible effects of nuclear tests, and that they must not be allowed to take place again in the future.

As a country at the forefront of the global anti-nuclear movement, Kazakhstan calls on the global community to adopt the General Declaration of a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World, so that all states can show their commitment to move towards a world free of nuclear weapons. The Declaration will become the next important step towards adopting a convention on nuclear weapons.

We believe that the only guarantee for the Hiroshima tragedy never again to be repeated anywhere on the planet is to rid the earth of nuclear weapons once and for all.”

Ambassador of Kazakhstan in Japan A.Kamaldinov attended Peace Memorial Ceremonies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities on August 6 and 9.