The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on the United States to take further steps to address the ongoing harm caused by its nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands, including providing healthcare and compensation for those affected, and declassifying all information and archives related to this legacy.
UN report describes the harm as severe and lasting
The call came in a report presented by the Office on Thursday to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The report described the human losses resulting from the tests as “severe and lasting”, noting that a fair settlement of the related claims had yet to be reached. UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Aua Dabl told the council: “The harm must be addressed.”
The UN listed persistently high cancer rates, the displacement of people from contaminated areas and lasting social stigma affecting those exposed to radiation, who are referred to as “poisoned people”, among the continuing effects. The United States conducted 67 nuclear weapons tests in the Marshall Islands, a group of low-lying islands and coral atolls in the central Pacific Ocean, between 1946 and 1958.
Castle Bravo test and testimonies from the Marshall Islands
The tests included the Castle Bravo detonation carried out on Bikini Atoll in 1954. Marshall Islands representative Senator David Anitok told the Human Rights Council: “The continued refusal to find an effective solution has forced us to turn to this council to seek assistance.”
Several Marshall Islands residents also gave testimony before the council, calling for an effective response to the continuing effects of the issue. Among the speakers was Alson Kelin, who was displaced from Bikini Atoll and lost both parents to cancer. Kelin joined residents’ calls for an effective solution to the legacy left by the nuclear tests and their health, social and environmental consequences.
The US State Department, meanwhile, said that the United States had already reached a final and full settlement of all claims with the Marshall Islands in 1986. It said the country continued to provide medical assistance and support for cancer patients, as well as environmental monitoring programmes for those affected.
The United States acknowledged the effects of its nuclear testing programme, accepted its responsibility towards the citizens of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and worked to fulfil it
Washington withdrew from the Human Rights Council last year, citing what it described as the council’s bias against Israel. Its seat remained vacant as the report was presented and representatives of the Marshall Islands and affected people gave testimony before the council.
