The United Nations is urging the United States to take additional measures to address its nuclear legacy in the Marshall Islands, advocating for medical assistance and the declassification of secret archives, according to a report presented to the international organization’s human rights body on Thursday.
Between 1946 and 1958, the US conducted 67 nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands, an area comprising low-lying atolls and coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean. Notable among these tests was “Castle Bravo,” the first detonation of a hydrogen bomb that utilized solid fuel for the nuclear fusion stage.
This infamous test occurred on Bikini Atoll in 1954 and remains one of the most recognized events in nuclear armament history.
The UN Human Rights Office noted in its report that these tests inflicted a “serious and long-lasting human cost,” emphasizing that to this day, no fair solution has been found for the claims made by those affected.
Reuters reported that there was no immediate response from the US mission in Geneva or the State Department regarding the report.
US Claims to Have Compensated For Damages
The United States, which administered the Pacific Islands after World War II, previously claimed that it had fully resolved all claims and provided over $600 million in compensation to affected communities.
However, Awa Dabo, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, insisted at the UN Council in Geneva that “damages must be repaired.”
The report cited ongoing impacts, including elevated cancer rates, displacement of people from contaminated areas, and persistent social stigmatization of those exposed, referred to locally as “poisoned people.”
The report called on the US to provide reparations in the form of medical assistance and to declassify all information related to its nuclear legacy.
US Absence Highlighted During Report Presentation
Marshall Islands residents, including Alson Kelen, who was displaced from Bikini and lost both parents to cancer, addressed the Council, pleading for meaningful resolution regarding this legacy.
Senator David Anitok, representing the Marshall Islands, stated before the UN body, “The continued denial of proper reparations has forced us to come before this Council to seek help.”
Washington withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council last year following the return of President Donald Trump, citing an alleged anti-Israel bias, leaving the US seat vacant during Thursday’s session.
Earlier this year, the US also pulled out of dozens of other international institutions.
