Nuclear weapons and human rights

Event Date: 28th February 2022
Location: Internet 15:00 GMT

UNFOLD ZERO Newsletter

An event in commemoration of

Nuclear Remembrance Day and World Future Day

Dear Peter Gloyns,

We cordially invite you to Nuclear weapons and human rights, an online event to commemorate Nuclear Remembrance Day, World Future Day and the final day of WeTheWorld 40 Days of Peace inspired by Martin Luther King Jr’s ‘We have a Dream’. (Event flyer).

This event brings young leaders from areas impacted by nuclear tests (Marshall Islands and Kazakhstan) together with seasoned campaigners and legal experts, to discuss and advance the human right to a nuclear-weapon-free future.

This includes opportunities to challenge the nuclear armed and allied states in UN human rights bodies following the adoption by the Human Rights Committee (HRC) in October 2018 of General Comment 36 on the Right to Life. In this General Comment, the HRC affirmed that the threat or use of nuclear weapons violate the Right to Life, and that there is an obligation under international human rights law to provide adequate reparation to the victims of nuclear testing and use.

Program

Chair: Michaela Sorensen (Mozambique/Denmark). Youth Fusion. UN Youth Associations Network.

Speakers:

Aigerim Seitenova (Kazakhstan/UK). Program Assistant, Youth Fusion. Research Scholar, University of Essex Human Rights Centre Clinic. Member, OSCE Core Group of Youth Experts;
Benetick Kabua Maddison (Marshall Islands/USA). Marshall Islands Education Initiative Project Director on Youth, Climate and Nuclear Issues. Adviser to Reverse the Trend;
Cecili Thompson Williams (USA), Executive Director, Beyond the Bomb;
Kehkashan Basu (Canada). Founder-President of Green Hope Foundation. Co-Chair, World Future Council Peace and Disarmament Commission. UN Human Rights Champion. Winner of the First-Ever Voices Youth Gorbachev-Shultz Legacy Award for Nuclear Disarmament;
Dr Daniel Rietiker PhD (Switzerland). International Law Lecturer, Lausanne University. President, Association of Swiss Lawyers for Nuclear Disarmament;
Alyn Ware (New Zealand/Czech Republic). PNND Global Coordinator. International Representative, Aotearoa Lawyers for Peace. Peace and Disarmament Program Director, World Future Council.

Nuclear Remembrance Day

Nuclear Remembrance Day (also known as Bikini Day) is the anniversary of the Bravo nuclear weapons test that took place at Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954 (Feb 28 in the USA/Europe). This was possibly the most destructive of the 67 nuclear explosive tests undertaken by the United States in the Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958.

The explosion was about 1000 times more powerful than the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima amd Nagasaki. It spread massive amounts of radiation across the Marshall Islands, throughout the Pacific and globally. This has had catastrophic, trans-generational impacts on the environment and the health of Marshallese people, which has not been adequately addressed by the United States government. Actions to secure appropriate reparations are continuing.

The experience of the Marshall Islands, and other areas where nuclear testing has been undertaken (e.g. Kazakhstan), demonstrate clearly that any testing or use of nuclear weapons violate human rights, and that there is a responsibility under international human rights law to eliminate the weapons.

Event co-sponsors

Yours sincerely
UNFOLD ZERO