Human Rights and Nuclear Weapons, a side event at the 58th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, co-hosted by PNND and the Permanent Missions of Kazakhstan and Marshall Islands to the UN.
States have obligations under international human rights law to refrain from the threat or use of nuclear weapons, pursue negotiations to achieve comprehensive nuclear disarmament under strict and effective international control, and provide adequate reparation to victims whose right to life has been or is being adversely affected by the testing or use of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, according to panelists at an event Human Rights and Nuclear Disarmament held at the UN in Geneva on March 27, 2025.
The event, organized by PNND in cooperation with the Permanent Missions of Kazakhstan and Marshall Islands to the UN, was held in follow-up to General Comment No. 36 of the Human Rights Committee and a joint statement “Right to life without Threat of Nuclear Weapons” submitted by Kazakhstan and 38 cosponsoring countries to the UN Human Rights Committee on September 20, 2023.
“The indiscriminate nature and catastrophic humanitarian consequences of these weapons not only pose an existential threat to humanity but also violate the most basic human rights principles,” noted H.E. Yerlan Alimbayev, Kazakhstan Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva. Kazakhstan has suffered the devastating public health and environmental impacts of over 400 nuclear weapons tested (detonated) on their territory during the time of the Soviet Union.
“We emphasize the urgent need to integrate human rights principles into global disarmament efforts. The right to life must be at the forefront of our collective actions, and we should acknowledge that the continued existence of nuclear arsenals undermines the very foundations of international humanitarian law,” said Ambassador Alimbayev.
“The narrative according to which nuclear weapons keep us safe and at peace has to be exposed,” implored H.E. Doreen deBrum, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Marshall Islands to the UN. “We all know what the last 80 years has brought in terms of conflict.”
Between 1946 and 1958 the United States undertook 67 nuclear weapons tests, including the Castle Bravo detonation – a nuclear bomb with a yield of 15 megatons, one thousand times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb.
“71 years after the Castle Bravo test, the sky and the ocean might be blue again but our islands and our people will never be the same” reported Ambassador deBrum. “The intergenerational health issues stemming from radiation exposure, with the Marshallese people suffering from some of the highest rates of cancer globally, is one of the most prevalent effects from the testing period to this day.”
“The obligations to refrain from the threat or use of nuclear weapons and negotiate for comprehensive nuclear disarmament are universal obligations under customary law,” said Neshan Gunasekera, an international lawyer and CEO of the World Future Council. “This means that they are applicable to all States, regardless of whether or not they are Parties to regional nuclear-weapon-free zone treaties or the new Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”
“Youth and future generations have a right to peace and to be free from the threat of nuclear annihilation,” said Ayleen Roy, core team member of Youth Fusion. “As such, nuclear armed and allied States have a responsibility to replace nuclear deterrence with common security, i.e. diplomacy, conflict resolution and the rule of law.”
The event was held in conjunction with the 58th Session of the Human Rights Council.
Caption:
Neshan Gunasekera, CEO of the World Future Council, speaking at the March 27 event in the Palais de Nations, Geneva