Workshop on the Implementation of the Marshall Islands Pledge for Human Rights 75

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen

Iakwe

Good morning from Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia

I am pleased to join you today for this workshop on the Implementation of the Marshall Islands Pledges For Human Rights 75. 

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 and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 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 the themes of the pledges presented by the Marshall Islands last December. 

75 years ago the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UDHR is a milestone document in the history of human rights and of the United Nations. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from different regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected. It has been translated into over 560 languages, including Marshallese.[1] The UDHR is widely recognized as having inspired, and paved the way for, the adoption of more than seventy human rights treaties, applied today on a permanent basis at global and regional levels.

The UDHR informs all of the work done by the United Nations. It is a blueprint for a better future, a guiding light. It is a unifying force for equality, social progress, justice and respect.  The Declaration is a life guide encompassing 30 articles that address rights and benefits, which have been realized by many but remains outside the reach of others. These include access to education, employment, fair pay, voting rights, healthcare and more. Furthermore, the values of free speech, privacy, and mutual respect irrespective of gender, race, ethnicity, or religion are evinced by the Declaration.

But the quest for human rights was not concluded when adopting the UDHR. Nor was it concluded when the peoples of former colonies and trusteeships achieved their right to self-determination.

All around the world human rights continue to be violated. Violations may be committed by the own government, but many times they are committed by the irresponsible behaviour of other countries that have polluted distant lands, or continued to cause climate change and sea level rise by not mitigating their own greenhouse gas emissions.

The Marshall Islands is a country where some of the biggest challenge to the enjoyment of human rights are the result of decisions taken in faraway lands. This was referenced by the Secretary General of the UN when he called the Runit Dome “a kind of coffin” leaking radioactive material to the sea and corroded by sea-level rise.[2]

The pledges presented by the Marshall Islands are indeed very timely. By referencing greater ambition for addressing climate change and greater awareness on nuclear legacies, the Marshall Islands contributes to addressing human rights not only for its own citizens, but of people from all around the world. In one of its pledges the Marshall Islands committed to, and I quote:

“Continue to support human rights priorities, initiatives, and ambitions of Small Island Developing States in garnering greater international solidarity and support for the need to apply human rights-based approaches to address the adverse impacts of climate change and nuclear legacies. 

This pledge is very timely, as next week the United Nations will hold the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States, in Antigua and Barbuda. It will be an opportunity to renew the international community’s commitment to address the unique challenges of the SIDS.

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 

[1] https://www.ohchr.org/en/human-rights/universal-declaration/translations/marshallese

[2] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/5/16/un-chief-guterres-concerned-nuclear-coffin-leaking-in-pacific