Cessation of Nuclear-Weapon tests

Efforts aimed at the complete cessation of nuclear-weapon tests, prompted initially by political and military considerations, but also by anxiety about the possible effects of radioactive fall-out from such tests, have been going on since 1954 as an independent item on the nuclear disarmament agenda. In the 1978 Final Document, the General Assembly identified the cessation of nuclear-weapon tests as a most important initial measure in working towards the highest priority requirement of nuclear disarmament. The item has been accorded ever-growing attention since then, as a comprehensive test ban has been increasingly regarded as overdue and it has become more and more widely postulated that the complete cessation of nuclear-weapon tests is the sine qua non for halting and reversing the nuclear-arms race.

Related Subject(s): Disarmament