. Military Space News .




.
WATER WORLD
Marshall Islanders 'nomads' in own country: UN
by Staff Writers
Majuro (AFP) March 30, 2012


More than 50 years after the United States ended nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands, test-affected islanders "feel like nomads in their own country", a UN special rapporteur said Friday.

Calin Georgescu said the governments of both the Marshall Islands and the United States "bear the responsibility to find effective redress" for islanders affected by Cold War period weapons testing.

The United States tested 67 nuclear weapons at Bikini and Enewetak from 1946-1958.

Georgescu, who has been on a four-day fact-finding mission to the Marshall Islands, will file a report to the UN Human Rights Council in September.

The US ambassador to the Marshall Islands, Martha Campbell, said earlier this month a $150 million nuclear test compensation agreement approved in the 1980s was "full and final" compensation.

She added the United States remains engaged in providing medical treatment to islanders exposed to fallout, and monitoring the environment in the affected islands.

Georgescu said the nuclear legacy is not resolved.

"I have listened to the concerns and stories of affected communities from Bikini, Enewetak, Rongelap and Utrik," he said.

"As a result of the nuclear testing, all of these communities have suffered dislocation, in one form or another, from their indigenous way of life.

"Many have become internally displaced persons who are yet to find durable solutions and expressed that they feel like 'nomads' in their own country."

Georgescu also noted many islanders "have suffered long-term health effects" from the nuclear testing, which was conducted while the Marshall Islands was a UN Trust Territory administered by the United States.

Marshall Islands Foreign Minister Phillip Muller expected Georgescu's report to give momentum to appeals to the United States for additional compensation, medical treatment programs and a clean up of nuclear affected islands.

"We hope it will help us gain international support for what we have been saying all of these years. We want the United States to step up to the plate to bring closure to the issue," he said.

Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics




.
.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries






.

. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



WATER WORLD
Tonga readies for king's state funeral
Nuku'Alofa (AFP) March 23, 2012
The Pacific island of Tonga was Friday preparing to bid farewell its late King George Tupou V, rehearsing the funeral procession and declaring two public holidays to coincide with the mourning. The body of the 63-year-old king, who died in Hong Kong this week, will arrive in the capital Nuku'alofa on a Chinese charter aircraft on Monday, then lie in state in the royal palace for a day before ... read more


WATER WORLD
Japan approves shoot-down plan for N. Korean rocket

Raytheon's New-Production Patriot Launches PAC-3 Missile in Flight Test

US, Russia to focus on 'homework' until election: official

SM-3 IIA Team Completes TDACS Preliminary Design Review

WATER WORLD
Russia, India in hypersonic missile talks

Lockheed Martin Receives THAAD Follow-On Development Contract

Tucson site is largest Raytheon facility to receive a superior rating

Lockheed Martin Upgrades Tactical Tomahawk Weapons Control System for Naval Air Systems Command

WATER WORLD
US drone strike kills 4 militants in Pakistan: officials

US could fly spy drones from Australian territory

NASA Flight Tests New ADS-B Device on Ikhana UAS

NRL Tests Robotic Fueling of Unmanned Surface Vessels

WATER WORLD
Raytheon to Continue Supporting Coalition Forces' Information-Sharing Computer Network

Northrop Grumman Wins Contract for USAF Command and Control Modernization Program

TacSat-4 Enables Polar Region SatCom Experiment

'See Me' satellites may help ground forces

WATER WORLD
Raytheon Begins Procuring Parts for India's Munitions Control Unit

USAF long-range radar program proceeding with revised acquisition strategy

Australia eyes more Bushmaster vehicles

Northrop Grumman to Develop New Atom-Based Magnetic Sensor in Enhanced, Compact Package for the U.S. Navy

WATER WORLD
Europe looks into Goodrich-UTC merger

Italian giant Finmeccanica posts 2.3 bn euro loss for 2011

Brazil's Rousseff to weigh French jet buy in India

Delhi boosts military spending 17 percent

WATER WORLD
Falklands reminds Britain of past glories, future challenges

Commentary: Second holocaust?

Graft main threat to Communist Party: China's Wen

Obama to meet Hu after blunt words on North Korea

WATER WORLD
Nanostarfruits are pure gold for research

Diatom biosensor could shine light on future nanomaterials

'Buckliball' opens new avenue in design of foldable engineering structures

A shiny new tool for imaging biomolecules


Memory Foam Mattress Review

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily Express :: SpaceWar Express :: TerraDaily Express :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2012 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement