Victim Assistance and Environmental Remediation in States and Territories Affected by Nuclear Weapons Testing in the Pacific

Monday, October 15, 2018  | Conference Room 9, UNHQ Pace University’s International Disarmament Institute – in partnership with the Positive Obligations Team of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung New York Office – has launched a major research project to gather and analyze the information necessary to ensure the rigorous implementation of the TPNW’s obligations on victim assistance, environmental remediation and international cooperation and assistance. This side event – co-sponsored by Pace University’s International Disarmament Institute, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung New York Office and the World Council of Churches – presented a global overview of the harms of nuclear weapons use, testing and related activities, as well as focused look at in-depth case studies from the Pacific region, including Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, New Zealand and the “downwind countries” that received concentrated radioactive fallout (including the Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu). In particularly, panelists identified existing capacities and assessed ongoing needs in affected communities and environments. Panelists

• Jamie Walsh, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation expert, Republic of Ireland
• Bonnie Docherty, Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic
• Matthew Bolton, Pace University International Disarmament Institute
• Elizabeth Minor, Article 36