Chernobyl: ten years after.... : International Commemoration Day declared for 26 April.

• Position: By the UN

The General Assembly on 20 December, in declaring 26 April 1996 the International Day Commemorating the Tenth Anniversary of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident, invited Member States to conduct activities to observe that tragic event and "enhance public awareness of the consequences of such disasters for human health and the environment throughout the world".

By adopting resolution 50/134 without a vote, the Assembly also invited Member States, especially the donors, the relevant multilateral financial institutions and other concerned parties of the international community, including non-governmental organizations, to "provide support to the ongoing efforts" of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine to cope with the consequences of the disaster.

The Secretary-General was asked to continue to maintain close cooperation, particularly through the UN Coordinator for International Cooperation on Chernobyl, with UN agencies and other relevant organizations, "with a view to encouraging the regular exchange of information, cooperation and coordination of multilateral and bilateral efforts in those areas", while implementing programmes and specific projects.

The establishment in Ukraine of an International Scientific and Technological Centre for Nuclear and Radiological Accidents was noted as an "important step towards enhancing the capabilities of the international community to study, mitigate and minimize the consequences of such accidents".

Anniversary activities

A number of planned activities and projects--special events, press conferences, photo and art exhibits, radio and television programmes, and publications--were to be carried out by the UN Department of Public Information and the Department of Humanitarian Affairs in commemoration of the Chernobyl disaster.

Those included a concert by the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra at the General Assembly Hall on 26 April, demonstration of documentary films provided by the countries concerned, and production of various special information products.

`Worst catastrophe'

The accident that had occurred on the night of 25 and 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine remained the "worst technological environmental catastrophe", Peter Hansen, the then UN Coordinator for Chernobyl and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, told the press on 28 November at Headquarters.

"It was a humanitarian catastrophe far different from others", he stated in announcing a 29...