THE President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Dr. Hilda Heine, delivered a strong and emotional statement at the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York, calling on the UN to finally take responsibility for decisions that harmed her country and to act urgently on climate change.
Speaking on behalf of one of the world’s most vulnerable nations, President Heine reminded world leaders of the nuclear tests carried out on Marshallese land during the UN’s trusteeship period.
Between 1946 and 1958, the United States conducted 67 nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands, under the UN flag.
“Our Marshallese pleas to the Trusteeship Council to stop nuclear testing were disregarded,” she said. “We were told we were safe, but we were not.”
She said the nuclear legacy still affects her people today. “Our communities seek justice, a clean environment and safe return to their homes.”
Dr. Heine asked the UN to finally acknowledge this history: “The UN should now be capable of delivering a contemporary acknowledgment and apology for what took place in its name and under its flag.”
Her message was also focused on the future. She warned that climate change is now the biggest security threat to the Pacific.
“If I could find a louder alarm for the Pacific Islands than my words today, I would sound it,” she said. “Only urgent action at scale can protect our people and our future.”
She called out rich countries for not delivering on their climate finance promises. “Promises don’t reclaim land in atoll nations like mine,” she said. “Those things require money.”
Dr. Heini voiced strong support for a moratorium on deep seabed mining. “We cannot afford to destroy what we don’t yet understand,” she said. The Marshall Islands has banned seabed mining in its own waters and is urging others to follow.
She also raised concern about small countries being ignored on the world stage. “Small island states may be small in size, but our voices carry the weight of lived truth.”
“The hope for our future is in nations committed to peace, justice and multilateralism. Let us not wait any longer.”