REPUBLIC OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDSSTATEMENT BY H.E. MR. PHILLIP H. MULLER,AMBASSADOR & PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE,PERMENANT MISSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDSTO THE UNITED NATIONS, AT THE 2010 REVIEW CONFERENCE OF THE
PARTIES TO THE TREATY ON THE NON-PROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
6 MAY 2010
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Mr. President, Excellencies,
Mr. President, I wish to congratulate you on your election as Chair, and we look forward to a productive - andtruly significant - Review Conference.
Mr. President,

The Republic of the Marshall Islands associates itself with the statement delivered by Minister Smith ofAustralia on behalf ofthe Pacific Islands Forum.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands, during its time as a UN Trust Territory, experienced 67 large-scalesurface tests of nuclear weapons. At the time of testing, and on every possible occasion in the intervening
years, the Marshall Islands has informed UN members of the devastating impacts of these tests -- of thedeliberate use of our people as unwitting scientific experiments, of ongoing health impacts inherited throughgenerations, of our displaced populations who still live in exile or who were resettled in unsafe circumstances,and then had to be removed. Even today, science remains a moving target and our exiled local communities arestill struggling with resettlement.
We are burdened by a large nuclear waste storage facility at low-lying Runit Island which sits only meters fromthe surrounding - and rising - ocean; and we lack the capacity, expertise or resources to address the long-termcare of this site. As we - the United Nations - map a global future of non-proliferation, the past legacy ofnuclear activities can no longer be ignored, and the fiduciary responsibility to address these impacts should beacknowledged.

In NPT Review Conferences in 1995 - and again in 2000 - member states recognized that a special
responsibility exists towards former UN Trust Territories adversely affected by weapons tests conducted under
the auspices of the UN. In both meetings, member states explicitly recognized the need for safe resettlement of
displaced communities, to restore economic productivity, and agreed that consideration should be given by all
governments and international organizations for requested assistance in the remediation and disposal. l
We will again expect the support of all member states in supporting this previously-agreed text, which
recognizes the special responsibility which exists towards former UN Trust Territories.
We acknowledge important actions already taken to date with the former UN administrator - the United States- to address the legacy and contemporary impacts of nuclear testing, and we acknowledge ongoing bilateraldiscourse to address unresolved issues - much remains to be accomplished. But these tests were also conductedwith the explicit authorization of UN members in Trusteeship Resolutions 1082 (adopted in 1954) and 1493
(adopted in 1956). At that time, the UN did not honor petitions by traditional Marshallese leaders to halt
testing.

I See NPT/CONF.2000/PC.III35, Para 23.

But this treaty - and this review meeting - is not about the Marshall Islands. Perhaps we have one of the mostimportant stories to tell regarding the need to avert the use of nuclear weapons - but we tell that story in thecontext of urging a strong international outcome from this meeting, and in urging member states to take fIrm,
legally binding and internationally-verifIable efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. It should
be our collective goal as the United Nations to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and to pursue the peace andsecurity of a world without them.
Mr. President,
The Republic of the Marshall Islands has recently ratifIed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and we urge
other member states to work towards bringing an entry into force of this important agreement.
Mr. President,
Weare alarmed that, although almost all NPT members are achieving obligations, there are a small few who
appear to be detennined to violate the rules which bind them, and whose actions thus far appear evasive,
particularly in testing or assembling nuclear weapons. We have no tolerance for anything less than strict
adherence by Parties to their legal obligations under the NPT - we urge, and we expect, an appropriate
international response. But most importantly, we seek the resolution of these issues through a means which
ensures a more safe and secure world, and ensures compliance with the NPT. This is not an issue of block
politics; it is an issue of collective international security.

Mr. President,The Marshall Islands is not the only nation in the PacifIc to be touched by the devastation of nuclear weapon
testing.
The support of the Republic of the Marshall Islands for a nuclear-free PacifIc has long been clouded by othertreaty obligations. With this week's announcement of a new perspective by the US, we are closely examining
our own position on the Raratonga Treaty, and express our eventual aspirations to join with our PacifIc
neighbors in supporting a PacifIc free of nuclear weapons in a manner consistent with international security.

Mr. President,
We strongly affInn and welcome the important recent progress made by the United States and Russia in theresumed START treaty, and recognize the new US commitments under the Nuclear Posture review to rule out
the development of new weapons, and to refuse use of weapons against compliant NPT parties. We recognize
the signifIcance of the recent international meeting in Washington, DC, and urge nuclear weapons states tointensify efforts to address their responsibilities in moving towards an effective and secure disarmament.

Mr. President,
The Marshallese people should be the very fIrst group to alert the United Nations to our deeper purpose - onethat transcends technical jargon. No nation - and no people - should ever bear witness to the burden of theexposure to the devastating impacts nuclear weapons.
We suffer the ongoing burden and legacy of nuclear exposure because of decisions made in a very distantUnited Nations - not unlike the very decisions before us at this meeting. The UN cannot - and must not -repeatsuch mistakes; we must rise to take on the challenge of international courage.

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