A file photo from July 2014 shows an atomic bomb explosion in Bikini Atoll. Photo: STF / AFP
The UN Human Rights Council has held a dialogue meeting to examine the nuclear testing legacy in the Marshall Islands.
UN News reports that OHCHR has found radiation exposure from nuclear tests between 1946 and 1958 caused the "proliferation of cancers, of painful memories of miscarriages, [and] stillbirths".
The report recommends the Marshall Islands, the US Government, the UN and other actors consider establishing truth and non-repetition mechanisms, as well as adopting and supporting a transitional justice-driven approach.
"The lessons of nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands are lessons for the whole world, as there are other areas, communities and countries that were and continue to be affected by nuclear testing," UN Deputy High Commissioner, Nada Al-Nashif, said in a statement at an Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the matter in Geneva.
"When it comes to human rights and environmental crises, we must stand together to prevent them, and to promote accountability, truth and reparations for them; protecting and empowering those most at-risk from their impacts."
The White House said in 2023 that it "acknowledge(s) the nuclear legacy" and remains committed "to addressing the...Marshall Islands' ongoing environmental, public health concerns, and other welfare concerns."
The Marshall Islands National Nuclear Commission chaoirperson Ariana Tibon-Kilma presented personal testimonies to the human rights council of the intense pain and suffering her community faced during and following the nuclear tests.
She described how the nuclear testing happened against the wishes of the Marshallese and how only hours after a detonation, people scratched off their own skin and mothers watched as their children's "hair fell to the ground and blisters devoured their bodies overnight."
She explained how those relocated from the islands were then subjected to a medical testing programme lasting more than 40 years which included the removal of healthy teeth, bone marrow and other body parts, "to be stored in a laboratory for research purposes", according to UN News' report.
"As I watched my loved one endure relentless pain, I grappled with a profound sense of helplessness, the weight of their suffering entwined with my own," Tibon-Kilm was quoted as saying, adding "let us remember that the dignity of every individual, especially those in their most vulnerable moments, must be fiercely protected and upheld."
