Sunday 28 August

Arrival to Astana & Welcome Reception

Throughout the day

Arrival of participants
Sightseeing tours

19.00 – 20.30

Welcome reception for the Conference participants hosted by the Mayor of Astana, Mr. Asset Issekeshev
Venue: Ak Tilek Restaurant

Monday 29 August

International Conference:
Building a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World

09.45

Departure to the Palace of Independence

10.00 – 10.30

Late registration, tour of exhibitions

11.00 – 11.05

OPENING SESSION:
Introductory remarks by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan

11.05 – 11.25

Address by President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev

11.25 – 12.50
PLENARY SESSION
Plenary Hall

Building a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World

Moderated by:

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan

 

Speakers:
  • Michael Møller, Denmark, Director General of United Nations Office at Geneva, Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament
  • Lassina Zerbo, Burkina Faso, Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission of CTBTO
  • Margarita Popova, Bulgaria, Vice President of Bulgaria
  • Manuel A. Gonzalez, Costa Rica, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Relations and Worship
  • Saber Chowdhury, Bangladesh, PNND Co-President, President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
  • Roger Nkodo Dang, Cameroon, President of the Pan-African Parliament
  • Hong Yong-pyo, Republic of Korea, Minister of Unification
  • Kenneth Kedi, Marshall Islands, Speaker of the Parliament
  • Motome Takisawa, Japan, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs
  • Hisham Badr, Egypt, Assistant Foreign Minister for Multilateral Affairs and International Security Affairs
  • Christine Beerli, Switzerland, Vice-President of the International Committee of the Red Cross
  • Jayantha Dhanapala, Sri Lanka, President of the Pugwash Conferences, Chair of the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference, Former UN Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs
  • Punsalmaagin Ochirbat, Mongolia, First President of Mongolia, Member of the Constitutional Court
  • Azay Guliyev, Azerbaijan, Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE

12.50 – 13.00

Closing of the Plenary Session by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, Provisional announcement of the Astana Vision Declaration

13.00 – 14.00

Lunch: Palace of Independence

14.00 – 15.30
PANEL SESSION I
Session Room 1

Security without nuclear weapons or war: Manifesto “The World. The 21st Century.”

Moderated by:
  • Erlan Idrissov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan
Speakers:
  • Petko Draganov, Bulgaria, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Central Asia, the Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia
  • Olzhas Suleimenov, Kazakhstan, Founder of the Nevada-Semipalatinsk anti-nuclear movement
  • Uta Zapf, Germany, PNND Special Representative to Inter Parliamentary Bodies
  • Ela Gandhi, South Africa, Co-President of Religions for Peace (grand-daughter of Mahatma Gandhi)
  • Senator Jordi Xuclà i Costa, Spain, Chairperson of Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
  • Denise Pascal Allende MP, Chile, Member of PNND. President of the Middle East Issues Committee of the IPU
  • Artak Zakaryan MP, Armenia, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations of the National Assembly
  • Vinay Sahasrabuddhe MP, India, Member of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) of the Parliament
  • General Bernard Norlain, France, Vice-président of Initiatives for Nuclear Disarmament, Member of the Global Zero, Former Air Force Commander
  • Emmanuel Dupuy, France, Adviser to Herve Morin, Leader of the Centre Party and former Minister for Defence
  • Kyoichi Sugino, Japan/USA, Deputy Secretary General of Religions for Peace
  • Mani Shankar Aiyar, India, PNND Co-President. Chair of the Rajiv Gandhi Action Plan for a Nuclear Weapon Free and Non-violent World Order
  • Samad Seyidov MP, Azerbaijan, Chair of the International Relations and Inter-parliamentary cooperation committee of the Parliament
  • Peggy Mason, Canada, President of the Rideau Institute, Former Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament to the UN
  • Kevin Miletic, UK, Deputy-Director of the Strategic Concept for the Removal of Arms and Proliferation

14.00 – 15.30
PANEL SESSION II
Session Room 2

A nuclear test ban and the role of the UN in achieving nuclear disarmament

Moderated by:
  • Alyn Ware, PNND Global Coordinator
Speakers:
  • Sergio Duarte, Brazil, Member of the Group of NGO Experts from New Agenda Countries, Former UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs
  • Thani Thongphakdi, Thailand, Chair of the UN Open Ended Working Group
  • Senator Minou Tavarez Mirabal, Dominican Republic, President, Parliamentarians for Global Action
  • Anita Friedt, USA, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance
  • Mikhail Bocharnikov, Russia, Ambassador of Russian Federation to the Republic of Kazakhstan
  • Ruveni Nadalo MP, Fiji, Deputy-speaker of the parliament
  • Jonathan Granoff, USA, Parliament of the World’s Religions UN Ambassador. UN Representative for the Nobel Peace Summits
  • Daniel Poneman, USA, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, Former US Deputy Secretary of Energy
  • Senator Salwa Damen el Masri, Jordan, PNND Co-President, Member of the Senate of Jordan
  • Senator Nan Orrock, USA, Georgia State, President of the Women Legislators Lobby
  • Trevor Findlay, Australia, member of the UNSG’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters
  • Graham Hassall, New Zealand, Former President of the United Nations Association of New Zealand

15.30 – 15.45

Coffee break

15.45 – 17.15
PANEL SESSION III
Session Room 1

National prohibition and nuclear-weapons-free zones. Geography of a sustainable world.

Moderated by:
  • Tarja Cronberg, Chair of the Middle Powers Initiative, PNND Past-President
Speakers:
  • Senator Roberto Leon Ramirez, Chile, President of the Latin American and Caribbean Group in the IPU
  • Natalia Díaz Quintana MP, Costa Rica, PNND Co-President
  • Enkhsaikhan Jargalsaikhan, Mongolia, President of Blue Banner. Former Ambassador of Mongolia to the UN
  • David Cunliffe MP, New Zealand, Opposition spokesperson on Disarmament
  • Mary Anne Plaatjies van Huffel, South Africa, President of the World Council of Churches Africa
  • Bill Kidd MP, Scotland, PNND Co-President, Member of Abolition 2000 Global Council
  • Daisuke Yamaguchi, Japan. Peace Depot Researcher
  • Jan Hoekema, Netherlands, Mayor of Mayor of Wassenaar, Member of Mayors for Peace
  • Herman Spanjaard, Netherlands, President of the Dutch Medical Association for Peace Research (NVMP)
  • Michele Di Paolantonio, Italy, President of the Italian Medical Association for the Prevention of Nuclear War

15.45 – 17.15
PANEL SESSION IV
Session Room 2

Initiatives and campaigns – legislators, religious leaders and civil society

Moderated by:
  • Jonathan Granoff, President of Global Security Institute, UN Representative for the Parliament of the World’s Religions, Senior Advisor to the Nobel Peace Laureate Summit
Speakers:
  • Kazuo Ishiwatari, Japan, Director of Peace and Global Issues, Soka Gakkai International
  • Karipbek Kuyukov, Kazakhstan, Honorary Ambassador of The ATOM Project
  • Raserati Johannes Tau MP, South Africa, Deputy Chairperson of the South African National Council of Provinces
  • Thore Vestby, Norway, Vice-President of Mayors for Peace
  • Erzhan Haji Magzhalyuly, Kazakhstan, Supreme Mufti of Kazakhstan
  • Vladimir Garkavenko, Russia, Co-President of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
  • Marie Dennis, USA, Co-President of Pax Christi International
  • Barry Ladendorf, USA, President of Veterans For Peace
  • Galen Carey, USA, National Association of Evangelicals
  • Imam Malik Mujahid, USA, Former Chair of the Parliament of the World’s Religions
  • Rachel Day, Canada, PNND Program Officer, Global Zero Student/Youth Network
  • Holger Güssefeld, Germany, Member of the World Future Council
  • Reiner Braun, Germany, International Peace Bureau
  • Wataru Kajihara, Japan, Board Member of Gensuikyo
  • Jackie Cabasso, USA, Chair of the Western States legal Foundation. Co-founder of Peace and Plane

17.15 – 17.45
Plenary Hall

CLOSING OF THE CONFERENCE:
Reports by four session moderators
Concluding remarks by Alyn Ware, PNND Global Coordinator

18.00 – 19.30

Reception hosted by the Chairman of the Senate of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mr. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
Venue: Saltanat Sarayi

Tuesday 30 August

PNND Meeting (optional)

9:30 – 12:30

PNND meeting

PNND will hold a follow-up meeting at Rixos Hotel to discuss nuclear disarmament issues and parliamentary actions and events. The meeting is open to PNND members, other parliamentarians, representatives of international organisations and civil society partners. The meeting will be followed by a PNND-hosted lunch.

 

Click here for the agenda of the meeting. Please RSVP to rachel@pnnd.org if you plan to attend, and indicate also if you plan to stay for the lunch.

Wednesday 31 August

Trip to Semipalatinsk (optional)

Optional trip to Semey and the former nuclear test site at Kurchatov

The tour includes a one hour flight from Astana to Semipalatinsk (Semey), a welcome by the Mayor of Semey, and a choice of visit to the medical research centre in Semey or the former administrative center of the nuclear test site in Kurchatov. To visit the test site in Kurchatov takes another 3 hours by mini-van.

The reservations for the trip have been closed. ALL PARTICIPANTS NEED TO BRING THEIR PASSPORTS!

Below is an overview of the program of the tour. Click here for the full schedule in PDF.

Depatrure

!!! UPDATED DEPARTURE TIMES !!!

 

5:45 Departure from Hilton to the airport

6:00 Departure from Rixos to the airport

7:30 Departure of charter flights from Astana airport

8:40 Arrival in Semey airport

8:40-9:10 Coffee break at Semey airport

Group 1 (Kurchatov)

9:10 Departure of buses to Kurchatov

11:30 Arrival to the National Nuclear Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan (NNC RK)

11:40 Lunch

13:00 Presentation of activities of NNC RK

13:30 Visit to the Sip Museum

14:30 Visit to the square Practice Field

17:30 Dinner

18:30 Departure to Semey

Group 2 (Semey)

10:00 Visit to the Regional Oncology Center

10:30 Visit to the Research Institute for Radiation Medicine and Ecology

11:00 Visit to Semey State Medical University (SSMU)

11:50 Access to the press (SSMU lobby)

12:20 Visit of Colonel’s Island. Laying flowers at the monument “Stronger than Death”

13:00 Lunch

15:00 Visit to the museum named after family of Nevzorovs

15:50 Visit to the Museum of Fyodor Dostoyevsky

16:30 Visit to the Museum of Abai

17:30 Dinner

 

Return

20:30 Flight from Semey to Astana

About Semey

Semey, a university town with a population exceeding 300,000, became the main service and accommodation centre for the nuclear test site in Kurchatov. Semey hosts a Research Centre of Radiation Medicine and Ecology which was established to monitor the impact of radioactivity on the population, and contains many of the records of this impact.

 

Semey also hosts a Medical University which includes exhibits of birth deformities and other health impacts of the nuclear test. There are cooperative projects between Semey and other radiation-impacted regions (such as Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Chernobyl and Fukushima) to learn more about how to address such impacts.

 

About the test site

The Semipalatinsk Test Site, also known as “The Polygon”, was the primary testing venue for the Soviet Union’s nuclear weapons. Built primarily by ‘Gulag’ (forced) labour, it is located at Kurchatov, 150 kilometres from the city of Semey, on the steppe of northeast Kazakhstan.

 

The Soviet Union conducted 456 nuclear tests at Semipalatinsk from 1949 until 1989. The site was selected by Lavrentiy Beria, political head of the Soviet atomic bomb project, who falsely claimed that the vast 18,000 km² steppe was “uninhabited”. Indeed, the health of over 2 million people in the region has subsequently been affected by the fallout from the nuclear tests.

 

The site was officially closed by President Nursultan Nazarbayev on 29 August 1991. However, the long-life of radiation, and the transgenerational impact of radiation damage to human genes, means that there will continue to be severe damage to the population for generations to come.