Twenty years ago, the five Central Asian countries
signed the Semipalatinsk Treaty, making the region a nuclear-weapon-free zone.
The anniversary was marked at the United Nations Office at Geneva. Participants
discussed the treaty’s role in strengthening the non-proliferation and
disarmament regime, as well as prospects for cooperation among
nuclear-weapon-free zones. Kazakhstan, together with its regional neighbors,
brought together representatives of nuclear-weapon-free zones of Africa, Latin
America, Southeast Asia, and the South Pacific. Permanent Representative of
Kazakhstan to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Erzhan Kazykhan, highlighted
Kazakhstan’s contribution to disarmament and non-proliferation, as well as the
importance of reinforcing the region’s nuclear-weapon-free status. Participants
also discussed promoting joint approaches, and sharing experience among
nuclear-free zones.
«Today, we are not simply marking the 20th
anniversary; we are also looking to the future – considering how to use this
experience, how the countries within these zones work and cooperate with
nuclear-weapon states, and how, ultimately, we can achieve our goal of creating
a world free of nuclear weapons,» noted Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of the United
Nations Office in Geneva.
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