August 29 is the International Day against Nuclear Tests, established by the UN General Assembly in 2009 with the aim to increase awareness and education “about the effects of nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions and the need for their cessation as one of the means of achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world.” August 29 is also the anniversary of the day in 1991 that Kazakhstan closed down the Soviet nuclear testing facility sited in Kazakh territory.
Our commemoration event at the Palais de Nations on August 29 considered obligations under international law, including human rights law, to prevent nuclear war and achieve a nuclear weapons free world. The event drew upon UN Human Rights Committee General Comment 36 (October 2018) which affirmed that the threat or use of nuclear weapons is “incompatible with respect for the Right to Life”, and a follow-up joint statement to the Human Rights Council by Kazakhstan and 39 other countries entitled Right to life without Threat of Nuclear Weapons (September 2023).
The event included exploration of effective security alternatives to nuclear deterrence based on the UN Charter, the adoption of which could assist in fulfilling the obligations to achieve the global elimination of nuclear weapons. This discussion was particularly critical, as we mark 80 years since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, underscoring the urgent need to protect the right to life and advance a nuclear-weapon-free world.
The event also included the launch of NuclearAbolitionDay.org, a platform for building civil society cooperation for the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons (See NuclearAbolitionDay.org launched at the United Nations in Geneva).
Speakers
- H.E. Mr. Yerlan Alimbayev, Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the UN in Geneva
- H.E. Ms. Doreen Debrum, Permanent Representative of Marshall Islands to the UN in Geneva
- Ms. Mélanie Régimbal, Geneva Office Chief of Service, United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA)
- General Bernard Norlain, President of Initiatives pour le Désarmement Nucléaire. Former Air Defense Commander and Air Combat Commander of the French Air Force (by video message in French. Translation into
English) - Marc Finaud, Vice-President of Initiatives pour le Désarmement Nucléaire, PNND Coordinator for France ( Presentation)
- Ms. Laurence Marzal, Senior Programme Officer, Technical Cooperation, Peace and Security. Inter-Parliamentary Union
- Natia Ninoshvili, PNND Program Officer. Youth Fusion Liaison Officer.
Moderator
- Alyn Ware, PNND Global Coordinator. Program Officer, World Federalist Movement-Institute for Global Policy.
Participation in the event requires a UN Grounds pass. For those without a UN grounds pass, please register at: https://indico.un.org/event/1019299/ by 15:30 on August 28.
Organisers and cosponsors
The commemoration event was Organised by the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan to the UN in Geneva and Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament (PNND), supported by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in Geneva, Basel Peace Office, World Future Council and Youth Fusion.
Contacts: Anna Lebedeva, Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan a.lebedeva@kazakhstan-geneva.ch, +41 22 920 09 77 (202). Alyn Ware, PNND. alyn@pnnd.org +41 788 912 156
StepUp4Disarmament, August 29, 2025
The commemoration event at Palais de Narions is held in connection with StepUp4Disarmament 2025, a global action led by the UNODA Youth4Disarmament program and the Government of Kazakhstan to commemorate the International Day Against Nuclear Tests. It involves a walk, run or cycle of 8.29 kilometres.
The Geneva StepUp4Disarmament walk will start at Place de Nations at 6pm. The walk will go to the Villa la Grange (notable as the venue of some important peace summits) and then return back to the UN, ending at the monument to Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear victims in Ariana Park.
Please register for the walk if you would like to join. For more information contact Anna or Alyn above.