Sign the petition. Observe a minute of silence
August 29 is the International Day Against Nuclear Tests. It was established by the United Nations to mark the anniversary of the day in 1991 that Kazakhstan closed down the Soviet nuclear test site on their territory.
The ATOM Project is calling for an international moment of silence on the day in memory of all victims of nuclear weapons testing. The project was launched by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev at an international parliamentary conference in Astana organised by Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament on August 29, 2012. It aims to build global popular support for a permanent end to nuclear weapons testing and for the abolition of nuclear weapons, including through a global petition.
Karipbek Kuyukov speaking at the PNND conference in Astana
“We are calling for people around the world to observe 11:05 a.m. their local time as a moment of silence,” ATOM Project Honorary Ambassador Karipbek Kuyukov said. “That time was chosen because the clock hands show a V, which stands for victory. This moment is meant to signify a victory of common sense over fear and a victory for global efforts towards a nuclear-weapons-free world.”
More than 90,000 people from over 100 countries have signed the petition. The ATOM Projects hopes to reach 100,000 signatures by this year’s August 29 remembrance. To sign, please go to www.TheAtomProject.org/100k.
Today, the effects of nuclear weapons upon civilian populations, agriculture, livestock and ground-water supplies are better known and well documented. They have contributed significantly to our collective efforts towards achieving the prohibition and elimination of all nuclear weapons for all time.
UN Secretary-General Ban-ki Moon, Statement for the 2014 UN Day Against Nuclear Tests
The ATOM Project puts a human face on this global issue by telling the stories of the survivors of nuclear testing. To this day, children are born with severe deformities, illnesses and a lifetime of health challenges as a result of exposure generations ago to nuclear weapons tests.
Kazakh President Nazarbayev launching the ATOM project at the PNND conference in Astana
“We have an opportunity to once more remind the world about the tragic consequences of nuclear testing and to push the global community towards more decisive actions to achieve a final and definitive ban of such testing,” President Nazarbayev told the PNND conference in Astana in August 2012.
“Under the [ATOM] Project any human being on Earth who stands against nuclear weapons can sign an online petition urging governments of the world to abandon nuclear tests forever and ensure early entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. I urge the participants of the conference and all people of goodwill to support The ATOM Project and make the creation of a non-nuclear weapons world our main goal.”
“We hope the August 29 Global Moment of Silence will bring the world one step closer to that goal,” says Kuyukov, himself a second generation survivor of nuclear weapons tests and a famous armless artist.