Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: Victim assistance and environmental remediation in the Pacific

This report provides insight into the benefits and challenges pertaining to victim assistance and environmental remediation in the wake of nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific. Nuclear weapons were tested by the United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US), and France across historical colonial and occupied commonwealth lands in the Pacific Ocean from 1946 until 1996.1 Australia, Republic of Kiribati, Marshall Islands, and French Polynesia were directly affected and experienced significant humanitarian and environmental consequences. Other nearby Pacific Island states, including Cook Islands, Fiji, and Solomon Islands were also impacted by the tests. While evidence of environmental and health effects exists, the total long-term consequences remain unknown. Nuclear weapons possessor states are reluctant to accept responsibility for harms and are unwilling to provide transparency around historical nuclear military activity. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) offers a path forward to understand the impacts of Pacific nuclear weapons testing and to support nation-states affected by these activities. Articles 6 and 7 of the Treaty provide a framework for addressing the humanitarian and environmental consequences and an avenue for international collaboration towards these ends. This report highlights the potential local and grassroots benefits of the Treaty to Pacific nations and recommends that Pasifika people are supported to engage with the decision-making process at every stage of its development and implementation. We recommend that mechanisms and safeguards are in place, including long-term support, monitoring, auditing, and education, to ensure access to support is equitable and fair. We recommend that Articles 6 and 7 are implemented through a lens of epistemic justice, which is justice of knowledge, and frameworks must be established to ensure parity of understanding among relevant Pacific communities, through translation of key materials into noncolonial languages and establishing community networks and mentors.

URI

https://bradscholars.brad.ac.uk/handle/10454/20311

Version

Published version

Citation

Alexis-Martin B, Ul Ain Q, Kaller K et al (2024) Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: Victim assistance and environmental remediation in the Pacific. Asia Pacific Leadership Network.

Link to published version

https://www.apln.network/analysis/special-report/treaty-on-the-prohibition-of-nuclear-weapons-victim-assistance-and-environmental-remediation-in-the-pacific

Type

Report