UN expert on internally displaced persons to visit the Republic of the Marshall Islands

GENEVA – The UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Paula Gaviria Betancur, will conduct a country visit to the Republic of the Marshall Islands from 5 to 15 October 2024.

Gaviria Betancur will assess the human rights situation of those displaced in the context of the Marshall Islands’ nuclear legacy. Lasting threats posed by nuclear waste, radiation, and contamination stemming from nuclear tests conducted in the Marshall Islands have kept many Marshallese from returning home for generations.

The Special Rapporteur will also examine displacement in the context of disasters and the adverse effects of climate change, which pose an existential threat to many Small Island Developing States and compounds the displacement and human rights challenges stemming from the country’s nuclear legacy.

Gaviria Betancur will travel to the atolls of Majuro and Kwajalein, and the islands of Majuro, Kwajalein, Ejit, Ebeye, Lib, and Kili. She will meet with local and national Government officials, diplomatic presences, representatives of the UN, and other human rights, humanitarian, security and development partners, civil society and internally displaced persons.

The Special Rapporteur will present her initial findings at a press briefing ahead of a seminar on displacement, nuclear legacy, and human rights in the Republic of the Marshall Islands on Monday, 14 October, at 12:00 local time at the Marshall Islands Resort in Majuro.

The expert will present her report to the Human Rights Council in June 2024.