UN chief appeals for more global support to end nuclear weapons testing

In a statement ahead of the International Day against Nuclear Tests on Thursday 29 August, Mr. Guterres said that the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was a “central pillar” of international efforts to end nuclear testing for good.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has made an appeal for more global support to end nuclear weapons testing.

In a statement ahead of the International Day against Nuclear Tests on Thursday 29 August, Mr. Guterres said that the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was a "central pillar" of international efforts to end nuclear testing for good.

But it was still not yet entered into force, more than 20 years after its adoption, the UN chief explained.

Repeating his call for all States that have not yet done so, to sign and ratify the Treaty so that it can enter into force, Mr. Guterres said that "in a world of rising tensions and divisions, our collective security depends on it".

The International Day against Nuclear Tests marks the closing in 1991 of the test site in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, the largest in the former Soviet Union.