Remembering the Past, Looking to the Future

30 August 2018

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) brought the CTBTO Group of Eminent Persons (GEM) and the CTBTO Youth Group (CYG) together for the first time at a conference in Astana, Kazakhstan entitled "Remembering the past, looking forward to the future." The conference, organized around the International Day Against Nuclear Tests, ran five days, from 28 August to 2 September 2018. The meeting took place at the invitation of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The VCDNP's Angela Kane, a member of the CTBTO GEM, spoke at the conference. Her first presentation addressed the CTBT's entry into force and later she discussed with participants the United Nations' Global Goals for Sustainable Development.

Through five days of discussions, GEM and CYG members agreed to a Conference Declaration to promote the CTBT and its entry into force. Agencia EFE quoted Ms. Kane in an article about the conference and what is needed for progress towards the CTBTO's mission.

"The only thing you can really do is mobilize public opinion, mobilize politicians and also to have people link up internationally, so it doesn't become a national effort, but more of an international effort [...]"

"If you live next to one of those explosion sites, you care about that, because your water might be contaminated. So if you find a human approach, I think you have much more of an effect on getting people to notice [...]"

The full article is available on the EFE Agencia website.