From the Pacific to the Steppes: a youth forum on nuclear justice in Astana
Draft for review. It will not appear on the live site until approved.
On 29 August 2024, the International Day against Nuclear Tests and the 75th anniversary of the first Soviet nuclear test near Semey, young people from Kazakhstan, Kiribati and the Marshall Islands met in Astana for the forum From the Pacific to the Steppes: Addressing Nuclear Sins and Advancing Nuclear Justice. It was organised by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, the Steppe Organization for Peace (STOP), which Yerdaulet Rakhmatulla co-founded, and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Kazakhstan.
The forum brought together youth from communities shaped by nuclear testing in two very different regions. Its outcome was a youth declaration with 12 action points addressed to governments, read out by STOP co-founders Adiya Akhmer and Yerdaulet Rakhmatulla. The points cover the empowerment of women, girls and youth, capacity-building so that affected communities can access international assistance funding, and greater transparency over how funds are used. One point asks the Government of Kazakhstan to better address the needs of communities affected by the Semipalatinsk test site.
Kazakhstan was due to preside over the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons six months later. The forum was one step towards making sure that youth and affected communities would be heard there too.
Original source
Youth Activists Gather in Astana, Channel Expertise, Influence for World Free of Nuclear Weapons
The Astana Times