Rehabilitation of Semipalatinsk region

The UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution initiated by Kazakhstan on international cooperation and coordination of activities for rehabilitation of the population, environmental restoration and economic development of Semipalatinsk region.

The document recognizes the important role of the government of Kazakhstan in allocating resources to help meet the needs of Semipalatinsk region.

"The document calls on the international community to assist Kazakhstan in the development and implementation of special programs for the treatment of the affected population, in efforts to ensure economic growth and sustainable development in Semipalatinsk region," the Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan reports.

The draft resolution was co-sponsored by a record number of representatives of the international community: 118 UN member states.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan expresses its gratitude to the UN member states that co-sponsored the resolution," the message reads.

This resolution was adopted by the UN for the 10th time. It was first approved in 1998 at the 52nd session of the UN General Assembly.

The adopted resolution on Semipalatinsk region is a clear indication of the recognition by the international community of Kazakhstan's serious concern about the long-term nature of the consequences of nuclear tests for the lives and health of people, especially children and other vulnerable groups - the MFA noted.

For reference: in Kazakhstan, the Semipalatinsk Test Site, the largest nuclear test site in the world, was closed by decree of the First President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 1991, where 458 atmospheric and underground explosions were produced from 1949 to 1989. The area affected by these nuclear tests is more than 300 thousand square kilometers. More than a million people are recognized as victims of tests; radiation weakened the immune system of residents of the affected region. The harmful effects of nuclear testing are passed down from generation to generation.