Kazakhstan’s ratification makes ban of nuclear weapons one step closer

Kazakhstan deposits the TPNW ratification instrument to the United Nations (KAZINFORM)

New York: Kazakhstan, the country where the Soviet atomic bomb was first tested 70 years ago, has become the 26^th state to deposit the ratification instrument to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) with the United Nations Secretariat.

The ceremony, on the International Day against Nuclear Tests, was attended by representatives of the United Nations and the international movement ICAN, a coalition of more than 500 non-governmental organizations from 103 countries committed to banning nuclear weapons.

Handing over the document to the depository, the Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the United Nations Mr. Kairat Umarov noted that this event was another important practical contribution of Kazakhstan to the global efforts to build a world free of nuclear weapons, KAZINFORM news agency reported.

Kazakhstan’s ratification is another crucial step towards the entry into force of the historic Treaty, which establishes a legal ban on nuclear weapons. Kazakhstan had participated actively in the elaboration and adoption of the Treaty. The treaty enters into force 90 days after 50 member states have ratified it.

“If Bolivia on 6 August, closed the first half of the necessary ratification, then Kazakhstan, on the occasion of the observance of the International Day against Nuclear Tests, opens the second half. This should inspire all those who care about the safe future of all humankind to take similar actions,” Umarov said at the ceremony. Bolivia was the 25^th state to ratify the TPNW.

According to KAZINFORM, the treaty’s main provisions are in line with the principled position of Kazakhstan “which has taken an ambitious path of becoming a leader in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation after being a one-time holder of the world’s fourth nuclear arsenal.”

Kazakhstan’s continued anti-nuclear efforts are guided by the fundamental initiative of the country’s First President Nursultan Nazarbayev, to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world by 2045, the UN’s centenary, it said.

“Our action is also our tribute to all those who have suffered from the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons. Our common task is to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies,” Umarov said after the participants in the ceremony observed a one-minute silence in memory of and to honor the victims of nuclear tests.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted on 7 July 2017 with the support of 122 UN Member States. It was the outcome of two sessions of the UN conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, that would lead towards their total elimination.

The conference took place in March and June-July 2017 in New York and the deliberations were open to all UN Member States. However, nine de facto and de jure nuclear weapons possessing states and their allies boycotted the talks.

The TPNW was opened for signature on 20 September 2017 during the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly in New York. To date, 70 states have signed the Treaty and 26 have ratified it.