Ban Ki Moon Calls for Ban on Nuclear Tests

Ban Ki Moon Calls for Ban on Nuclear TestsHavana, Cuba, Aug 30.- UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon called for the signing of an international treaty banning the tests of nuclear weapons, since he considered it an initiative that would guarantee a safer world.

In his speech marking International Day against Nuclear Tests on August 29, Ki Moon said that such actions continue to pose a threat on human health and on global stability, Prensa Latina Reported.

The UN General Assembly decided to establish the International Day against Nuclear Test on August 29 to commemorate the closing, the same date in 1991, of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test center, in northeastern Kazakhstan.

In his statement, Ki Moon called the international community attention on the harmful and prolonged effects of nuclear tests and on the ongoing danger represented by tens of thousands of nuclear weapons existing in the world.

The UN Secretary General noted that in order to achieve the goal proposed, the states that have not yet signed or ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty must do it as soon as possible.

The international accord, which aims at the supervision of all nuclear tests, counts on the large support by the international community, though it has not yet got in force.

Thus far, 183 countries have signed the treaty and another 157 have ratified it. In order to get in force, the treaty must be signed by China, North Korea, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Pakistan and the United States.(Radio Cadena Agramonte)