The UN rights office on Thursday (October 1, 2026) urged Washington to ensure full and effective reparations for people affected by U.S. nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands , a tiny Pacific nation.
“It lives on in bodies and families. In lands poisoned and communities displaced. The consequences of the U.S. nuclear testing programme extend beyond the dome. Dabo.
“For the Marshallese, this history is not past,” said deputy UN rights chief Awa Dabo. And it lives in the demands, across generations, for recognition and justice,” she told the UN Human Rights Council. “Virtually every Marshallese family has been touched by the enduring health consequences of the nuclear testing, which include elevated rates of cancer,” said Ms. In a report presented to the rights council, the UN rights office urged Washington to “recognise that there has not yet been a comprehensive just settlement of claims arising from the nuclear testing programme”. It called on the United States to provide “full and effective remedies for the human rights impact of the nuclear legacy for all Marshallese, including by declassifying and making accessible all information related to the nuclear legacy”. However, “the settlement of claims did not cover harm done to future generations, moral damage, environmental degradation or other forms of harm”, said Ms.
