International Day Against Nuclear Tests | Five points

Nuclear weapons testing commenced on July 16, 1945, with the Trinty test where physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer played the leading role. Over 2,000 tests have been conducted since then. United Nations report says India’s Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was the first statesman to call for a “stand still” agreement on nuclear testing on April 2, 1954.

On December 2, 2009, the UN General Assembly designated August 29 as the International Day against Nuclear Tests to raise awareness about nuclear explosions’ effects and the need for a world free of nuclear weapons.

The resolution was initiated by the Republic of Kazakhstan, together with a large number of sponsors and cosponsors with a view to commemorating the closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test site on August 29, 1991.

Since 2010, this day has been marked globally with activities such as conferences, exhibits, lectures, and media broadcasts, emphasizing the dangers of nuclear testing.

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is the international instrument to put an end to all forms of nuclear testing, though yet to be ratified by all the countries with significant nuclear capabilities. The United States and China have not yet ratified it. India, Pakistan and North Korea have not yet signed the Treaty.

Nuclear Tests after CTBT: From 1998 to 2017

India (1998): India conducted two underground nuclear tests named “Shakti (Power) ’98” on May 11 and 13, 1998, at the Pokhran, Rajasthan testing site following its earlier test in 1974.

Pakistan (1998): Pakistan responded with two underground tests at Ras Koh range soon after.

North Korea

2006: North Korea conducted an announced underground nuclear test on October 9, 2006, breaking an eight-year de facto moratorium.

2009: Additional tests were carried out in 2009.

2013: It conducted another nuclear test.

2016: North Korea conducted two tests, one in January and another in September.

2017: Another test was conducted in North Korea in 2017.

The CTBTO’s International Monitoring System will include 337 monitoring facilities around the world when complete. According to the UN, the system is more than 90% complete with 305 certified stations transmitting data around the clock to CTBTO headquarters in Vienna, ensuring that no nuclear explosion will escape detection.