At the Second Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in December 2023, Kazakhstan and Kiribati continued to lead on Articles 6 and 7 of the treaty, focusing on victim assistance and environmental remediation related to past nuclear testing.
The UK’s involvement in nuclear testing in Kiribati, largely overlooked in UK parliamentary and media discourse, remains a dark chapter. Between 1957 and 1962, the UK conducted nine nuclear tests and facilitated 24 U.S. tests on the islands. These detonations, totaling 30 megatonnes of explosive power, devastated the landscape and left lasting physical, mental, social, and economic impacts on the population. Despite these effects, the UK has never apologised or compensated the victims, and the government’s claims that the island was fully cleaned up in the 2000s are disputed by Kiribati’s government and survivors.
The change in UK government leadership offers a new opportunity to address this issue. Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s commitment to “progressive realism” could pave the way for a more just approach to Britain’s nuclear legacy. UNA-UK aims to shift the UK’s stance on the TPNW, which has been largely dismissive under previous Conservative governments, to one of engagement and support.
UNA-UK is delighted to announce further funding for our work on nuclear disarmament, awarded by the Marmot Trust. This multi-year programme will focus on challenging the UK’s outlook on nuclear weapons, as a nuclear armed state, by promoting the TPNW and highlighting the illegitimacy of the UK’s nuclear testing record. We aim to mobilise our relationships with leading international academics, sympathetic parliamentarians and Kiribati survivors to bring this issue to the attention of the Labour Government.
UNA-UK's stance on nuclear weapons is rooted in a commitment to multilateral disarmament, non-proliferation, and the promotion of peace and security. Work on this project will encompass advocacy, education, and collaboration to encourage the UK and other states to take meaningful action towards a nuclear-free world.
For more information on UNA-UK’s work on nuclear disarmament, contact Lauren at muir@una.org.uk
Photo: President of 2nd Meeting of States Parties to Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Briefs Press. Credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe
