INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE TOTAL ELIMINATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS: SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

On September 26, the United Nations (UN) promotes a special day that calls for all countries to get rid of nuclear weapons.

Hiroshima’s Atomic Bomb Dome is a reminder of the city’s destruction in 1945.

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17,000 Nuclear Weapons Worldwide

Nuclear weapons are explosive devices with a destructive power that comes from nuclear energy being released. More than half the world’s population live in countries that have nuclear weapons or are members of nuclear alliances. There are at least 17,000 nuclear weapons in the world today.

One single nuclear device can destroy a whole city and eliminate the natural environment and lives of future generations. They have already destroyed entire cities, like Hiroshima in Japan, where at least 150,000 people were killed or wounded after the city was bombed during World War II.

A World Without Nuclear Weapons

One of the UN’s oldest goals is to achieve worldwide nuclear disarmament – in other words, to see the world free of nuclear weapons. In December 2013, the UN decided to create a day to inform people and push governments to see the social and economic benefits of not having nuclear weapons. The Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons is one of the UN’s efforts to seek more action on nuclear disarmament.

What’s Open or Closed?

The day is a global observance and not a public holiday so it’s business as usual.

International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons Observances

 

Weekday	Date	Year	Name	Holiday Type
Fri	Sep 26	2014	International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons	United Nations observance
Sat	Sep 26	2015	International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons	United Nations observance
Mon	Sep 26	2016	International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons	United Nations observance
Tue	Sep 26	2017	International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons	United Nations observance
Wed	Sep 26	2018	International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons	United Nations observance
Thu	Sep 26	2019	International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons	United Nations observance
Sat	Sep 26	2020	International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons	United Nations observance