International Day Against Nuclear Tests: Poignant Quotes On Nukes And Their Testing

International Day Against Nuclear Tests, observed every Aug. 29, calls for increased awareness about the "terrifying" effects of nuclear weapons testing, reiterating the need to end nuclear tests for peace and security.

There have been over 2,000 nuclear tests since nuclear weapons testing began on July 16, 1945, the United Nations (UN) noted. Although there is a general consensus about the "life-threatening" risks it poses, there is still a "lingering suspicion" about "clandestine nuclear weapons testing."

The resolution to declare Aug. 29 as International Day against Nuclear Testing was adopted on Dec. 2, 2009. In it, the UN General Assembly noted "every effort should be made to end nuclear tests in order to avert devastating and harmful effects on the lives and health of people and the environment."

"In the early days of nuclear testing little consideration was given to its devastating effects on human life, let alone the dangers of nuclear fallout from atmospheric tests," the UN said. "Hindsight and history have shown us the terrifying and tragic effects of nuclear weapons testing, especially when controlled conditions go awry, and in light of the far more powerful and destructive nuclear weapons that exist today."

Since the International Day Against Nuclear Tests was declared in 2009, there have also been "significant developments" in the efforts, the UN noted.

On this day, let's look at some poignant quotes on nuclear weapons and testing. (Courtesy: Good Reads, Brainy Quote, AZ Quotes)

1. "Japan learned from the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that the tragedy wrought by nuclear weapons must never be repeated and that humanity and nuclear weapons cannot coexist." - Daisaku Ikeda
2. "For the sake of future generations, we must continue to work together to realize a world without nuclear weapons." - John Roos
3. "When we put an end to nuclear tests, we get closer to eliminating all nuclear weapons." - Ban Ki-moon
4. "A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. The only value in our two nations possessing nuclear weapons is to make sure they will never be used. But then would it not be better to do away with them entirely?" - Ronald Reagan.
5. "Every inhabitant of this planet must contemplate the day when this planet may no longer be habitable... The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us." - John F. Kennedy
6. "Nuclear weapons offer us nothing but a balance of terror, and a balance of terror is still terror." -George Wald.
7. "It is such a supreme folly to believe that nuclear weapons are deadly only if they're used. The fact that they exist at all, their presence in our lives, will wreak more havoc than we can begin to fathom." - Arundhati Roy
8. "Our world faces many grave challenges: Widening conflicts and inequality. Extreme weather and deadly intolerance. Security threats - including nuclear weapons. We have the tools and wealth to overcome these challenges. All we need is the will." - Antonio Guterres