Youth Activist Delivers Statement at the UN General Assembly

  Statement for the General Assembly’s High Level Meeting to Commemorate the  

International Day Against Nuclear Tests   

29 August 2023

Delivered by Elias Merad Taouli, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and Reverse The Trend

President of the United Nations General Assembly, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Executive Secretary of the CTBTO, Representative of the Director General of the IAEA, Esteemed Excellencies, Fellow Advocates of Peace, and Honored Guests, 

My name is Elias Merad Taouli, and I am a 17-year-old Algerian American representing Reverse The Trend: Save Our People, Save Our Planet, the youth initiative of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.  The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is a non-governmental organization, with consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, recognized by the UN as a Peace Messenger Organization. Since 1982, NAPF has worked to create a just and peaceful world, free of nuclear weapons.

It is an honor to stand before you to address a matter of paramount significance: the critical role of youth voices in multilateral nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation fora. Participation of young people, such as myself, in policy discussions can contribute to guiding humanity away from the precipice of nuclear armageddon, as warned by influential voices around the world, including Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. 

President and Esteemed Delegates,

As a young Algerian American, I firmly believe that the international community must acknowledge the legacy of nuclear testing worldwide and enable justice for the victims of these inhumane weapons. Over 315 tests were conducted in the Pacific, specifically in Australia, French Polynesia, Kiribati, and the Marshall Islands, equivalent to more than 10,000 Hiroshima bombs. In Kazakhstan, alone, more than 450 nuclear tests were conducted. Algeria, too, bore the burden of 17 nuclear tests. Other regions and locations were impacted as well. 

To this day, the consequences of the nuclear tests continue to cast a long shadow in each of these communities, with mothers having miscarriages and children born with birth defects, and continued adverse physical and mental health effects for all. 

Just as nuclear testing has scarred the ground on which it took place, so too has it left its mark on these communities, a reminder of a painful past that can never be forgotten.

The legacy and ongoing nuclear violence is unfinished business. Calls for recognition, reconciliation, and reparations to be made by nuclear perpetrators are long overdue.

President and Esteemed Delegates,

Sharing our narratives is indispensable in educating the next generation about the grave humanitarian and environmental impacts of nuclear weapons. At Reverse the Trend, I initiated the Gerboise Blue Project, a cinematic endeavor. This project utilizes poignant interviews with affected youth, nongovernmental representatives, and experts, delving into the enduring impact of the French government's 1960s nuclear testing program in Algeria. 

Our aim is to present this impactful short film in high schools to shed light on historical events and their present-day implications. We seek to foster a deeper understanding of the devastation caused by nuclear weapons. 

President and Esteemed Delegates,

The path to nuclear justice requires us to empower the youth and raise awareness about the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, our best hope for a world free of nuclear weapons.

As we forge ahead, our commitment remains fueled by a determination to amplify the voices of those affected by nuclear weapons. The TPNW, with its humanitarian focus as contained in Articles 6 and 7 of the Treaty, serves as a beacon of hope, liberating humanity from the haunting spectre of nuclear weapons. We call upon all states, who have not done so, to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

United, we stand poised to achieve monumental strides in our unwavering quest for peace and the well-being of afflicted communities across the globe. 

Together, we can establish a future free from the looming shadow that has been cast by nuclear weapons. 

Thank you.