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2014: United We Count, United We Are Stronger and United We Will Succeed

December 31, 2013

By Roman Vassilenko, Ambassador-at-large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan

As we count the last few hours of the year of 2013, we at The ATOM Project team would like to wish everybody peace, prosperity and, above all else, a future free from the threat of nuclear annihilation.

2013 has been a significant year for the development of The ATOM Project and we believe we have made substantial strides in raising global awareness about the existential threat that nuclear weapons tests and nuclear weapons in general continue to pose for humanity.

As the year progressed, The ATOM Project either organized, or participated in, dozens of events in countries such as Norway, Italy, Russia, the U.S., Finland, Austria, Japan and Germany. On Aug. 29, 2013, which is the UN International Day Against Nuclear Tests and the day on which President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 2012 launched this international initiative, people around the world joined together in a minute of silence in memory of the victims of nuclear weapons testing across the world over the 70 years that these weapons have existed.

The ATOM Project was privileged to work during the year with many international organizations that share the common goal of building a better and safer future for the world: the United Nations, the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization, the Commonwealth of Independent States Interparliamentary Assembly, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons and many others.

We are also deeply grateful for the efforts of many in Kazakhstan who have worked to help advance the goals of The ATOM Project, not the least of which includes the leadership of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and many members of both houses of Parliament of Kazakhstan, as well as prominent Kazakhstan individuals who pledged their support for the cause.

We are also deeply grateful to the dozens of Kazakhstan embassies abroad and the scores of passionate people working in them who all but took personally the mission of advancing the vision of a world without nuclear weapons testing and, ultimately, nuclear weapons.

And, of course, we are ever so grateful to the Honorary Ambassador of The ATOM Project, Karipbek Kuyukov, for his tireless efforts, unbending will and great inspiration that he provides to all of us and to many people around the world. He has become a powerful voice for thousands of nuclear weapons testing survivors in Kazakhstan and a strong advocate for a safer future free from the nuclear weapons threat.

Today, more than 70,000 people from more than 100 countries have signed the online petition of The ATOM Project. In a world of more than 7 billion people, 70,000 is not a huge number, but this number is constantly growing, which means that more and more people across the world are making their voices heard.

As we look into the future, we realize full well that the road to such a future will not be easy, nor will it be short. Yet, remembering the tragic history of nuclear weapons testing in Kazakhstan and in other countries, and the many victims of such testing, we grow stronger in our conviction that a nuclear-weapons-free future for mankind is not only possible, but is the only future we should build. Our children and grandchildren deserve such a future.

So, let us summon our optimism, join our hands and hearts together and fight for the cause of a nuclear-weapons-free world with ever more strength and determination. Remember, united we count, united we are stronger and united we will succeed.