Astana (ICRC) – The Kazakh Humanitarian Law University will host a round-table on 30 November on the cost in human terms of nuclear weapons. Some 30 diplomats and government officials will attend the event in Astana, Kazakhstan, organized by the foreign ministries of Japan and Kazakhstan, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The round-table brings together representatives from Japan, the only country to have experienced a nuclear attack, Kazakhstan, which is still suffering from the effects of nuclear weapon testing and the ICRC, which went to help those affected immediately after the bombing of Hiroshima.
"Over seventy years have gone by since Hiroshima, but nuclear disarmament is no nearer. Unfortunately, promises have not turned into action," said Jacques Villettaz, the head of the ICRC's regional delegation in Central Asia. "But the humanitarian consequences of the use of such weapons have become central to any debate on nuclear disarmament."
The ICRC and the wider International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement are deeply concerned by the impact of nuclear weapons and, potentially, their illicitness under international humanitarian law. They are determined to focus attention on the necessity of banning nuclear weapons.
For further information, please contact:
Pierre-Emmanuel Ducruet, ICRC Tashkent, tel: +7 702 768 73 35
