From 24 August to 4 September, the latest session of Working Group B 67 (WGB) took place in Vienna, Austria

17 experts from the Technical Experts Support Program (TESP), who had taken part in the meeting of Working Group B (WGB-67), attended the first plenary session, expert group meetings and technical discussions; visited CTBTO monitoring facilities in Vienna and met with the Acting Chair of the Working Group, Professor Laslo Evers. Their participation strengthens the technical expertise supporting the CTBTO verification system.

On 2 September, to mark the International Day Against Nuclear Tests, an official event was held in Vienna, organised jointly by the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. The Executive Secretary of the CTBTO, Dr Robert Floyd, emphasised the importance of the role that the #CTBTO plays in linking each generation to the work of its predecessors. The Executive Secretary also thanked the people behind the CTBTO monitoring system, whose work and expertise are vital to building a world free from nuclear test explosions.

Speakers at the event included Dr Robert Floyd, Executive Secretary of the CTBTO; Ms Rebecca Yovin, Head of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs; and Mr Yerzhan Kuatbekov, representative of Kazakhstan.

The following representatives of the global community monitoring compliance with the CTBT delivered statements:

• Uzbekov Abylay from the Kazakhstan National Data Centre;
• Gonzalo Fernández from the Bolivia National Data Centre;
• Ms Shuang Feng, a representative of the People’s Republic of China from the CTBTO Mentorship Programme.

At the end of the event, a group photograph of the participants was taken. The Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan organised a reception.