Transitional Justice to Address the Nuclear Legacy in the Marshall Islands Workshop

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen

Iakwe,

Good morning from Yap, Federated States of Micronesia

I am pleased to join you today for this workshop in accordance with Human Rights Council Resolution 51/35, on the role of Transitional Justice in Addressing the Nuclear Legacy in the Marshall Islands. 

I speak on behalf of the whole UN system in Micronesia and acknowledge and appreciate the work undertaken by the Office of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights in close collaboration with the National Nuclear Commission of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in putting together this important event. We hope that this collaboration will not only support the Marshall Islands to advance its national strategy for nuclear justice, but will similarly inform the United Nations programme in the Marshall Islands to include capacity development and technical assistance on this matter.

70 years ago, following the impacts of the Bravo explosion in the Bikini Atoll, the people of the Marshall Islands sent the United Nations a petition entitled “Complaint regarding the explosion of lethal weapons within our home islands”. The petition appealed for the United Nations to act, so that all experiments with lethal weapons ceased immediately, and that, alternatively, a series of precautionary and compensatory measures were taken.

The Trusteeship Council adopted a resolution that, considering this petition:

• noted that reports by the USA that the good health of all those affected was reported to be restored, 
• welcomed assurance from the USA that there would be no permanent displacement, and 
• urged the USA as Administrating Authority to take “prompt and sympathetic attention” given to the claims of the Marshallese. 

This resolution and a similar one of 1956 were not sufficient to address the demands of the Marshallese people, as:

• nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands were resumed and continued until 1958, 
• the health impacts are still felt today, and 
• the inhabitants of Bikini and Rongelap atolls and their descendants remain displaced to this day.

As time went by, the consequences of these nuclear tests have continued to be felt and are further compounded by the human rights’ impact of climate change and sea level rise. 

The impact of the twin crises of climate change and nuclear legacy is well illustrated by the Runit Dome in the Eniwetok Atoll. In 2019, the Secretary General of the UN called the Runit Dome “a kind of coffin” leaking radioactive material to the see and corroded by sea-level rise. For the Secretary General, the dome symbolized the dramatic consequences of these nuclear tests in relation to health and the poisoning of waters in some areas of the Pacific.

In 2022, the United Nations Human Rights Council, adopted a resolution on technical assistance and capacity-building to address the human rights implications of the nuclear legacy in the Marshall Islands, resolution 51/35. One of our colleagues from the Office of the UN High Commissioner working on the implementation of this resolution is now based in the UN Multi-Country Office in Pohnpei and will be able to leverage the entire UN programme. This should contribute to the realization of human rights and development, including the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment for the people of the Marshall Islands. 

And at the global level, the report on the continuing impact of the nuclear legacy on human rights – informed and shaped by your input and the conversations we will have in this week’s capacity building workshop -- will be presented to the Human Rights Council in its 57th session in September of this year. The UN Secretariat continues to call for international cooperation considering the great challenges faced by Small-Island Developing States, like the Marshall Islands. The 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States, to be held in Antigua and Barbuda this May, will be an opportunity to renew the international community’s commitment to address the unique challenges of the SIDS, which for many in the Pacific, and for the Marshall Islands in particular, is compounded by the nuclear legacy, compounded by the triple planetary crisis.

As this workshop exemplifies, the United Nations stands ready to assist the people and Government of the Marshall Islands to continue to navigate the choppy waters on the way towards a more sustainable and prosperous future, in which human rights are enjoyed by all.

Thank you,

Kommol Tata