Marshall Islands Sues India

The Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI), in the Pacific Ocean with a population of 70,000 is creating ripples in what is deemed to be a David vs Goliath challenge. Marshall Islands sued nine nations in possession of nuclear Weapons which include: The US, Russia, France, UK and China that signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968 and other four nations: India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea containing nuclear arsenal at International Court of Justice (ICJ), Hague. Law suits were filed against these nations for their assiduous modernisation of nuclear weapons despite the pledge of cessation of nuclear arms race at an early date. It also appealed for disarming of nuclear weapons under a strict and effective international. It contends the NPT nations for the breach of the treaty and for legally violating its objectives. Under the customary international law, it reprimanded the non NPT members of indulging in quantitative accumulation of the nuclear weapons, qualitative up gradation of nuclear arsenals and for engaging in nuclear race contrary to the nuclear disarmament objectives.

On March 7^th Marshall Islands has first moved case against India and its hearing will be held first followed by those against Pakistan and Britain. It charged India for failing to curtail the nuclear race in the region. While case was filed against nine countries, India, Pakistan and Britain alone are heard as these countries recognise the ICJ’s authority. China replied that it will not accept the court’s jurisdiction and other nations don’t have a binding to adhere to court’s ruling.

Marshall Islands in its appeal requested the ICJ to order the nations to rein-in on the rapid escalation of nuclear arms at an early date and to comply with the principle of nuclear disarmament within one year of the judgement. The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation which supports the lawsuits informed that there are over 16,000 nuclear weapons worldwide and nearly 94% of them are with the US and Russia despite signing several treaties like START in 2010.

During World War II US occupied Marshall Islands and from 1946 to 1958 it conducted 67 nuclear tests on the Bikini Atolls of Marshall Islands including the most powerful Castle Bravo test of March 1^st 1954. It was the largest nuclear detonator ever blasted. This hydrogen bomb was 1000 times more powerful than the device dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. These tests resulted in death of a several fishermen and annihilation of two atolls. In 1956 the United States Atomic Energy Commission, declared Marshall Islands as the most contaminated place in the World.

By suing the big countries involved in the arms race, Marshall Islands desperately wanted to draw World’s attention to destruction and devastation endured by these islanders over several decades. In its appeal, the islanders severely berated the nations for testing the weapons of poison and mass destruction away from their own shores and testing elsewhere.  Located at an altitude of 7ft from sea, these islands are precariously poised and threatened by the rising sea levels. Rapid climate changes is taking a huge toll on the island rendering it highly submersion prone. The RMI a conglomeration of 29 atolls and 5 isolated islands so far paid heavy price for the indiscriminate nuclear testing. Islanders incurred irreparable, catastrophic damages due to severe environmental changes further the radiation fall of the nuclear tests caused radiogenic cancer and abnormal birth defects.

RPI filed law suits for enduring the radiation contamination and to address the disputes between nations by invoking the painful history of its own land but not for accruing monetary compensation. This move was aimed to rekindle global concern and create awareness towards unimpeded nuclear proliferation and its disastrous consequences on the mankind.

International lawyers inspired by the courageous move of the diminutive nation devoted time in compiling the law suits. Even if court rules the case in favour of the islands prospects of the nuclear nations heeding to such judgement is exceedingly low. But the action will draw substantial attention towards the most neglected issue of nuclear disarmament.  Earlier in 1997 ICJ has issued an advisory urging the nuclear powers to display restraint in proliferation of nuclear arms. Two decades have elapsed since the issuance of non-advisory opinion but nations hardly made any attempts to this end.

While treaties prohibiting the use of chemical, biological and other weapons of mass destruction have been successfully enforced, possession of nuclear weapons have never come under scanner. The issue has merit as the world is going through international tension and it is more relevant than ever as this comes days after the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un ordering his troops to ready the nuclear arsenal for pre-emptive use. In the recent meeting convened at Vienna on humanitarian law, scientists warned that use of even a small percentage of nuclear arsenals would drastically change the atmosphere causing drop in temperature resulting in massive crop failures. While nations have qualms about the climate changes, what can they hope to gain with peaceful resolutions on climate change with looming threat of burgeoning nuclear arsenals set to annihilate the world? Islanders are appealing to the World by drawing parallel between climate change issues and nuclear disarmament as they both affect security and survivability of human kind.

 

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