BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 29. Kazakhstan and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) called on states to step up efforts to bring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) into force and strengthen the global norm against nuclear testing.
The call was made in a joint statement by Kazakh Foreign Minister Yermek Kosherbayev and CTBTO Executive Secretary Robert Floyd on the International Day against Nuclear Tests, marked on August 29.
"2026 marks several critical milestones for global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation efforts. On 29 August Kazakhstan will celebrate 35 years since the closure of the Semipalatinsk test site where, over four decades, more than 450 nuclear tests took place, providing a stark example of the dangerous consequences, human trauma, and environmental damage caused by nuclear testing. The closure of the Semipalatinsk test site sent a powerful political message and played a crucial role in broader global efforts that led to the adoption of the CTBT in 1996. Since then, Kazakhstan has consistently supported the Treaty and the build-up of its verification regime," the statement says.
According to the statement, the CTBT has been signed by 188 states and ratified by 179. Kazakhstan and the CTBTO welcomed the recent signing and ratification of the treaty by Tonga.
The statement also highlighted progress in establishing the CTBT’s verification regime. A total of 308 facilities worldwide have been certified, including 293 monitoring stations and 15 radionuclide laboratories, with the network more than 90 percent complete.
Kazakhstan currently hosts five stations of the International Monitoring System operated by the National Nuclear Center. The sides also noted Kazakhstan’s contribution to the development of the CTBT’s on-site inspection capabilities. Four field experiments were conducted in Kazakhstan in 1999, 2002, 2005 and 2008, including at the Semipalatinsk test site.
The statement said the Integrated Field Exercise 2026 (IFE26), scheduled for October in Namibia, will provide an opportunity to further develop on-site inspection methods and equipment and strengthen national verification capabilities.
Kazakhstan and the CTBTO called on all states to uphold existing moratoriums on nuclear testing and urged countries that have not yet signed or ratified the CTBT to do so without delay. The sides also called on the remaining Annex 2 states, whose ratification is required for the treaty to enter into force, to demonstrate their commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.
The statement noted that the 30th anniversary of the CTBT’s opening for signature should serve as a new impetus for efforts to achieve its entry into force and establish a permanent, legally binding end to nuclear testing.
