Marshall Islands survivors seek justice for US nuclear testing legacy

Eighty years after the United States began conducting nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands, survivors and descendants continue to seek justice for the lasting health, environmental, and cultural damage. Between 1946 and 1958, the U.S. conducted 67 nuclear tests in the archipelago, with a combined explosive yield equivalent to more than 7,000 times the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

At a UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva, officials and community leaders highlighted that the nuclear legacy remains an active and unfinished issue. A UN Human Rights report stated that nuclear justice remains incomplete and called on Washington to provide comprehensive assistance and recognize that there has not yet been a “complete and just settlement” of claims.

The consequences for the approximately 37,000 residents include displacement, loss of traditional livelihoods, and radioactive contamination. Concerns persist regarding the safety of local land and food sources. Specific sites, such as the Runit Island crater containing radioactive waste sealed under a concrete dome, serve as ongoing reminders of the testing era.