Revisiting Nuclear Legacy in Marshall Islands: The Implications of Transitional Justice and Trans-science

In relation to Marshall Islands, “nuclear legacy” refers to the long-term environmental, health, and socio-cultural impacts of the United States’ nuclear weapons programme conducted in the islands from 1946 to 1958. The legacy still takes a toll on the daily lives of the Marshallese. Bikini Atoll and Enewetak Atoll, two nuclear weapon testing sites, are still largely uninhabitable, and many cancer cases have occurred among the Marshallese exposed to fallout and residual radiation. Beginning with the first petition filed with the United Nations Trusteeship Council by members of the Marshallese Congress in 1954 (Marshall Islands and United Nations Trusteeship Council in Petition from Marshallese people concerning the Pacific Islands, 1954), for 70 years Marshall Islands has condemned the injustice of nuclear testing and advocated for the need to assist its affected sites and people. As a result of their continued efforts, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution (A/HRC/RES/51/35) in October 2022, reaffirming the importance of the human rights of Marshallese people who have suffered from health and environmental damages and forced displacement. The resolution has influenced the international power balance regarding nuclear legacy issues. This chapter revisits Marshall Islands’ nuclear legacy and examines its related diplomacy. The study also addresses emerging geopolitical and institutional frameworks regarding various nuclear tests in the Pacific. Recommendations as to the ways forward are made from the perspectives of human rights, science–social relations, and the roles of Marshall Islands and the United Nations Multi-Country Office for Micronesia, implying a nexus of transitional justice and trans-scientific issues with regard to the nuclear legacy in Marshall Islands.