Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoUN / NUCLEAR TESTING
STORY: UN / NUCLEAR TESTING
TRT: 02:49
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 03 SEPTEMBER 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations
03 SEPTEMBER, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, General Assembly
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, United Nations:
“Today’s commemoration takes place in a world overshadowed by conflict, mistrust and the looming shadow of nuclear weapons. Trust between States continues to erode, while investments in nuclear weapons and their delivery systems increase. Against this backdrop, the prohibition of all nuclear explosive testing is not merely a technical or procedural matter. It is a moral and strategic necessity.”
4. Wide shot, General Assembly
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, United Nations:
“Nearly three decades after its adoption, the CTBT has not yet entered into force and the totality of its promise remains unrealized. This delay cannot continue. Let me be clear: the only path to abolishing nuclear tests is through a legally binding prohibition – respected, implemented, and above all enforced. That is the promise of the CTBT.”
6. Wide shot, General Assembly
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, United Nations:
“It is incumbent upon every State to bring that promise to life, but in particular those States whose ratification is still required for the treaty’s entry into force. Their leadership will decide whether this Treaty finally closes the door on the era of nuclear testing.”
8. Wide shot, General Assembly
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, United Nations:
“The measure of our commitment will not be found in the words we speak today – it will be found in the choices we make tomorrow. That choice is ours – and it must be to end nuclear testing forever.”
10. Wide shot, General Assembly
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Floyd, Executive Secretary, Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO):
“Can we take two major policy steps? First, all nuclear armed states maintain and reaffirm their respective moratoria on testing. And second, those states that have yet to sign and/or ratify the Treaty think hard about the advantages of taking that all-important step towards universalizing this Treaty. The global goodwill and prestige. Especially for those states that can bring us closer to entry-into-force.”
12. Wide shot, General Assembly
UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu said that the “choice is ours – and it must be to end nuclear testing forever.”
Today (3 Sep), Nakamitsu, on behalf of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, addressed the High-level plenary meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to commemorate the International Day against Nuclear Tests.
She said, “Today’s commemoration takes place in a world overshadowed by conflict, mistrust and the looming shadow of nuclear weapons. Trust between States continues to erode, while investments in nuclear weapons and their delivery systems increase. Against this backdrop, the prohibition of all nuclear explosive testing is not merely a technical or procedural matter. It is a moral and strategic necessity.”
Yes, she added, “Nearly three decades after its adoption, the CTBT has not yet entered into force and the totality of its promise remains unrealized. This delay cannot continue. Let me be clear: the only path to abolishing nuclear tests is through a legally binding prohibition – respected, implemented, and above all enforced. That is the promise of the CTBT.”
She stressed, “It is incumbent upon every State to bring that promise to life, but in particular those States whose ratification is still required for the treaty’s entry into force. Their leadership will decide whether this Treaty finally closes the door on the era of nuclear testing.”
She concluded, “The measure of our commitment will not be found in the words we speak today – it will be found in the choices we make tomorrow. That choice is ours – and it must be to end nuclear testing forever.”
Robert Floyd, Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) also addressed the General Assembly and said, “Can we take two major policy steps? First, all nuclear armed states maintain and reaffirm their respective moratoria on testing. And second, those states that have yet to sign and/or ratify the Treaty think hard about the advantages of taking that all-important step towards universalizing this Treaty. The global goodwill and prestige. Especially for those states that can bring us closer to entry-into-force.”
On 2 December 2009, the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly declared 29 August the International Day against Nuclear Tests by unanimously adopting resolution 64/35.
The resolution 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.”
The resolution was initiated by the Republic of Kazakhstan, together with a large number of sponsors and cosponsors with a view to commemorating the closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test site on 29 August 1991.
Download
There is no media available to download.
