NAPF/RTT/ICAN hosts Nuclear Justice Event
Christian N. Ciobanu
On 29 October 2024, the Missions of Kazakhstan and Kiribati, together with the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF), its youth initiative Reverse The Trend, and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), hosted a timely discussion on advancing nuclear justice through victim assistance and environmental remediation. Veronique Christory, Senior Arms Adviser for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Delegation to the UN; Ambassador Teburoro Tito of Kiribati; Azamat Kairolda, Counsellor of Kazakhstan; Christian N. Ciobanu, Policy and Advocacy Director of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and TPNW Advisor of Kiribati; Raphael Pangalangan, Human Rights Officer at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; and Dr. Ivana Hughes, President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and a member of Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons’ Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) served as the panelists. Lina Hjärtström of ICAN moderated.
Veronique Christory of the ICRC underscored that there is no adequate humanitarian response to a nuclear weapon detonation. She emphatically stressed that it is extremely doubtful that nuclear weapons can be used in accordance with international humanitarian law. She further emphasised the need to address the increased rhetoric of the threat of use of nuclear weapons.
Ambassador Teburoro Tito described how the citizens of Kiribati suffered from 33 nuclear tests by two nuclear-armed states. As a result, his country is firmly committed to nuclear justice and is collaborating closely with Kazakhstan on both the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons’ humanitarian provisions contained in Article 6 and 7 and the historic nuclear justice UN General Assembly resolution entitled Addressing the Legacy of Nuclear Weapons: Providing Victim Assistance and Environmental Remediation.
Similar to Ambassador Tito’s comments, Azamat Kairolda of Kazakhstan stressed the importance of environmental remediation and victim assistance. Kairolda specifically mentioned the urgency of investment by the international community to help affected communities, further elaborating on the nuclear justice resolution tabled by Kazakhstan and Kiribati. In addition, Kairolda stated that Kazakhstan will chair the Third Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW, and Kazakhstan’s priority will be establishing an international trust fund. He also urged states that have not yet done so to join the TPNW. Kairolda concluded his remarks by adding that nuclear justice is not the responsibility of any single state, but rather, the collective duty of the international community.
Christian Ciobanu of NAPF and Kiribati specified that the new updated version of the nuclear justice resolution calls for an international meeting on victim assistance and environmental remediation. Regarding the implementation of the TPNW’s humanitarian provisions, Ciobanu mentioned the states parties are developing a terms of reference document for the international trust fund. This document addresses the involvement of civil society and affected communities in the decision-making processes, as well as the composition of the Board of Trustees. He also stated that Kiribati and Kazakhstan are looking forward to collaborating with the international community on addressing nuclear justice.
Following Ciobanu’s remarks, Raphael Pangalangan of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) discussed the significance of the OHCHR’s study on the legacy of nuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands. He explained that the study is centered on examining transitional justice, emphasing the role of fact finding and truth seeking to achieve justice for the Marshallese people. Pangalangan further explained that during the course of his investigations, he also realised that the Marshallese people are not just victims, but champions of nuclear justice as evident in theirpresentations in Geneva at a high-level event on the study. This is an example of how the human rights framework can assist nuclear justice. Pangalangan concluded by stating that the study will be renewed.
Dr. Ivana Hughes of NAPF and SAG emphasised the role of scientists in addressing nuclear justice. She specified that scientific studies relating to the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons motivated the negotiations of the TPNW and for states parties of the Treaty to call for the establishment of the SAG. Dr. Hughes explained that the SAG has been examining the verification provisions relating to Article 4 and the implementation of Articles 6 and 7 of the TPNW. Specifically, she stated that one place where action can be delivered now is through the implementation of Articles 6 and 7. She concluded that “nuclear justice is nuclear abolition. These two things are intertwined. It cannot be that people have suffered for decades, and we ignore those devastating experiences and continue to have nuclear weapons.”