United Nations says Nuclear Test Ban "Priority"

New York: United Nations Secretary General has called on states that have yet to sign up to the ban on nuclear testing to make it their "priority".

Warning that voluntary moratoriums on nuclear weapon tests are not enough, Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday that China, North Korea, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, and the United States were still yet to ratify the treaty. Over the course of the Cold War, hundreds of nuclear weapon tests left behind a devastating legacy for local citizens and their natural environment. Out of a total listed number of 195 States, 182 have so far signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty NTBT and 154 have ratified it, but it cannot come into force until "hold-out states" also sign up.

August 29 was official International Day Against Nuclear Tests, and coincides with 20th anniversary of historic events that led to closure of former Soviet nuclear test site of Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan, where more than 456 explosions contaminated the land and caused horrific health problems for its inhabitants. Kazakhstan, whose north east region had been ravaged by Russian testing, initially proposed the testing ban in 2009. On Monday, U.S. pledged a voluntary "in-kind" contribution valued at $8.9 million to Preparatory Commission for Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization CTBTO. It is largest single contribution of its kind to the organization to date. U.S., which is also yet to sign up to the treaty directed that its contribution should underwrite further development of full range of CTBTO verification and monitoring activities.