Thursday, September 3, 2020
9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Eastern
Co-sponsored by the Center for Policy Research at the University at Albany, SUNY, with the support of the Embassy of Kazakhstan to the United States
Over the 75-year history of the nuclear age, nuclear weapons have been used only twice in war, with deadly results. But the world’s nuclear armed states have also carried out more than 2,000 nuclear tests, which fueled the arms race and inflicted widespread health and environmental damage.
Since the conclusion of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in 1996, nuclear testing has been considered taboo. However, the effects of past nuclear tests linger, and the door to the resumption of nuclear testing remains ajar.
On the occasion of the International Day Against Nuclear Tests (Aug. 29), we invite you to a special virtual briefing on "The Taboo Against Nuclear Testing and the Legacy of Past Nuclear Tests.”
Panelists discussed current threats to the global test ban, strategies to resolve accusations of cheating, how states can reinforce the test ban at the upcoming review conference on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), how nuclear testing by the Soviet Union and the United States has affected downwind populations, and what can be done to assist people adversely affected by those tests.
Welcome:
- His Excellency Erzhan Kazykhanov, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United States
Speakers:
- Alimzhan Akhmetov, Director, Center for International Security and Policy, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
- Tina Cordova, co-founder, Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium
- Desmond Doulatram, researcher, Republic of the Marshall Islands National Nuclear Commission
- Daryl G. Kimball, executive director, Arms Control Association
- Gaukhar Mukhatzhanova, Director of the International Organizations and Non-Proliferation Program at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
Moderator:
- Togzhan Kassenova, senior fellow with the Project on International Security, Commerce, and Economic Statecraft at the Center for Policy Research at the University at Albany, SUNY
Following comments from the speakers, there was be a question and answer session.