This year when the UN officially commemorates the Tenth Anniversary of the Day, on August 29, Kazakhstan\u2019s First President Nursultan Nazarbayev presented to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO<\/a>) Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo and the relatives of late International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA<\/a>) Director General Yukiya Amano, who passed away on July 18, 2019, the Nazarbayev Prize for a Nuclear-Free-World and Global Security<\/em> in Nur-Sultan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To receive the Prize, members of late Yukiya Amano\u2019s family arrived in Kazakhstan \u2013 widow Yukika Amano and brother, former Permanent Representative of Japan in Geneva, Mari Amano.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Established in 2016, the Nazarbayev Prize is awarded to prominent individuals for their contribution to nuclear disarmament and global security. The first laureate of the Prize was King Abdullah II of Jordan for his contribution to promoting the creation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction free zone in the Middle East and the acceptance of 1.5 million Syrian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev praised the significant efforts undertaken by late Amano and Zerbo towards nuclear non-proliferation and security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHeading the IAEA, Yukiya Amano played a key role in the creation of the low-enriched uranium bank in Kazakhstan and contributed to the settlement of Iran\u2019s nuclear issue. The activities and efforts of Lassina Zerbo have resulted in the near completion of the international monitoring network for the comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty. He also took the initiative to establish the CTBTO Group of Eminent Persons<\/a> and the CTBTO Youth Group<\/a>,\u201d said Tokayev. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis year marks the 25th anniversary since Kazakhstan signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, our country\u2019s membership in the IAEA as well as the 10th anniversary since the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia,\u201d said Tokayev.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ceremony was attended by prominent figures, such as the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, member of the Prize Award Committee Franco Frattini, the IAEA Deputy Director General Mary Alice Heyward, former Director General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW<\/a>) Ahmet Uzumcu, Deputy Chairman of the Nuclear Threat Initiative Foundation<\/a>, former UK Secretary of Defense Desmond Brown, former UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Sha Zukang, and co-chairman of the International Peace Bureau Reiner Brown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The participants of the event noted the importance and relevance of the Prize, the key role of the First President of Kazakhstan \u2013 Leader of the Nation \u2013 in Kazakhstan\u2019s achievements in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation, his activities as a world-class political figure who is pleased not only for the interests of his country, but also the entire world community, as well as an invaluable contribution to strengthening the regional and international security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The award ceremony coincided with the August 29 International Day against Nuclear Tests, which was unanimously designated by the United Nations in 2009. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The date commemorates the closure of the Semipalatinsk test site, where 456 Soviet nuclear tests were conducted over 40 years. Nearly 1.5 million people in Kazakhstan have suffered from the consequences. Tokayev noted the decision to close the Semipalatinsk test site had \u201chistorical significance\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTaken against the resistance of the Soviet military elite and individual politicians, the decision of the First President Nazarbayev to close the nuclear test site required great courage and firm will. It has facilitated the entire antinuclear movement,\u201d added Tokayev.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.indepthnews.net\/image\/participants_nazarbayev_award.jpg\")
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Photo: The Prize ceremony took place in the Nazarbayev Center in Nur-Sultan.The collage includes photos from Katsuhiro Asagiri and Yukie Asagiri | INPS Japan.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Photo:](\"https:\/\/www.indepthnews.net\/image\/ground_zero1.jpeg\")
In turn, Kazakh First President Nazarbayev said the escalating confrontation between the two nuclear powers, the U.S. and Russia, and their walkout from the ![\"Photo:](\"https:\/\/www.indepthnews.net\/image\/press_conf_nazar_award.jpeg\")
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