Since nuclear weapons testing began on 16 July 1945, nearly 2,000 have taken place. Hindsight and history have shown us the terrifying and tragic effects of nuclear weapons testing on both the environment and human health, especially when controlled conditions go wrong.
Resolution 64/35
On 2 December 2009, the United Nations General Assembly declared 29 August the International Day against Nuclear Tests by adopting resolution 64/35 which calls for increasing 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.” This date commemorates the closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test site on 29 August 1991. However it was 2010 before The International Day against Nuclear Tests began.
The international instrument to put an end to all forms of nuclear testing is the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Unfortunately, this has yet to enter into force.
Since its establishment, in 2009 many bilateral and multilateral governmental level developments as well as broad movements in civil society have helped to advance the cause of banning nuclear tests. “convinced that nuclear disarmament and the total elimination of nuclear weapons are the only absolute guarantee against the use or threat of nuclear weapons,” the General Assembly designated 26 September as the “International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons", which is devoted to furthering the objective of the total elimination of nuclear weapons, through the mobilization of international efforts. The International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons was observed for the first time in September 2014.
It is the hope of the UN and all civilised people that one day all nuclear weapons will be eliminated. (I doubt that will be in my lifetime). Until then, we need to work towards promoting peace in our world.
"The legacy of nuclear testing is nothing but destruction. The CTBT is vital to ensuring there are no more victims; it is also essential to advancing nuclear disarmament. On the International Day Against Nuclear Tests, I reiterate my call for all States that have not yet done so, to sign and ratify the Treaty, especially those whose ratification is needed for the Treaty’s entry into force. In a world of rising tensions and divisions, our collective security depends on it" - UN Secretary-General António Guterres