Marshall Islands: International community morally bound to support efforts to address historical and future displacement

GENEVA – A UN expert has welcomed the Republic of the Marshall Islands’ efforts to seek remedy and solutions for displaced persons, while underscoring the urgent moral obligation of the international community to support the country’s efforts to address a multi-faceted internal displacement situation.

“Legacies of nuclear testing and military land requisitions by a foreign power have displaced hundreds of Marshallese for generations, while the adverse effects of climate change threaten to displace thousands more,” said Paula Gaviria Betancur, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, in a statement following a 10-day visit to the country.

“This situation has been driven largely by forces beyond the Marshall Islands’ control, yet the Government has undertaken significant efforts to seek justice for historically displaced communities as well as develop ambitious climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.”

Gaviria Betancur congratulated the Marshall Islands on its recent election to the Human Rights Council, where it has also introduced a resolution to address the human rights implications of the nuclear legacy, and its international leadership on climate change. She encouraged the Government to continue building on these efforts to effectively address displacement.

“The Government should adopt a comprehensive, rights-based policy on displacement, promote greater transparency around laws and policies relevant to displaced persons, and continue working with traditional leaders to ensure the land tenure system is adapted to current and future displacement challenges,” she said.

Gaviria Betancur emphasised the international community’s moral obligation to support the Marshall Islands’ efforts to address internal displacement, noting that the historical displacement occurred while the Marshall Islands were under administration by the United States of America as a Strategic Trust Territory of the United Nations.

“Many Marshallese I spoke with recounted the profound sense of dislocation they feel as a result of their displacement from lands deeply intertwined with their sense of culture and identity as Indigenous Peoples,” she said.

“While current compensation arrangements may have been put in place after independence, these aim to codify displacement that took place when those displaced could not reasonably have provided free, prior, and informed consent in line with Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination, given that they were residents of a non-self-governing territory negotiating with a nuclear power that rarely provided full information.”

Gaviria Betancur urged the United States to provide historically displaced Marshallese with complete information on their displacement and exposure to residual health risks, ensure meaningful remedy, and seek the full consent of those with traditional rights to lands it occupies for military purposes, including through providing them with the opportunity to terminate such agreements in favour of reclaiming their lands. She also called on the international community to support implementation of national climate change mitigation and adaptation policies, noting the country’s limited contribution to global emissions.

The Special Rapporteur will present her report to the Human Rights Council in June 2025.