In June 2026, the Qazaq Nuclear Frontline Coalition (QNFC) published a report "From Harm to Justice: A Needs-Based Assessment of Nuclear-Affected Communities in Kazakhstan and Policy Pathways for Implementing Articles 6 and 7 of the TPNW".

This policy paper is shaped by lived experience, community knowledge, and a shared commitment to nuclear justice. It is not a conventional policy paper written solely from institutional or academic distance. Developed with care and responsibility towards every human being, animal, ecosystem, and the Qazaq steppe that has endured the lasting scars of decades of nuclear detonations, this paper is written with our land, water, collective wellbeing, and future generations in mind.

Authored by Aigerim Seitenova and Yerdaulet Rakhmatulla, co-founders of the Qazaq Nuclear Frontline Coalition (QNFC), the рaper examines the devastating humanitarian, environmental, and intergenerational consequences of Soviet nuclear detonations in Kazakhstan and explores pathways for implementing Articles 6 and 7 of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) on victim assistance and environmental remediation.

Developed on a grassroots basis with limited resources and informed by nuclear-affected community - members from Semey (former Semipalatinsk) and Pavlodar, this research deliberately departs from conventional models in which external institutions assume primary authorship and direction.

The report includes key findings on the needs of affected community members, drawing on survey findings, focus groups, and interviews, to identify persistent structural gaps relating to healthcare access, compensation mechanisms, disability recognition, environmental remediation, socio-economic insecurity, and access to information. It also produces policy recommendations to advance policy proposals directed at the Government of Kazakhstan, TPNW States Parties, international organisations, academia, civil society organisations, nuclear-affected communities, nuclear-armed states, and states relying on nuclear weapons within their security doctrines. The recommendations seek to strengthen survivor-centred, participatory, and rights-based approaches to victim assistance and remediation efforts, while supporting broader goals relating to accountability, human security, and the elimination of nuclear weapons. 

Please join us for a report launch event and discussion on Thursday, 2 July 2026 at 9:00 UTC. Find the meeting in your time zone here.

The event is free and open to the public, but please RSVP to confirm your attendance. Please note this is an online only event.