A delegation of Pacific nuclear survivors and advocates is in Canberra today to call on the Australian Prime Minister to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). They are joined by Anangu-Yankunytjatjara woman and second-generation nuclear test survivor Karina Lester, and members of the Parliamentary Friends of the TPNW.

The visit falls during two significant anniversaries: July 1 marks 80 years since the first US test detonation at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands; July 2 marks 60 years since the first French test detonation at Mururoa Atoll, Mā’ohi Nui (French Polynesia). The anniversaries were acknowledged in a motion put forward on Monday by Labor member for Macquarie, Susan Templeman, who said: “With the legacy of nuclear testing still felt deeply in Australia, our region and across the world, we want nuclear weapons testing to be relegated to history. […] I will continue to advocate for the importance of sustained international commitment to nuclear non-proliferation, including the Treaty on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”

“The experiences of the Marshall Islands and other Pacific communities remind us that decisions made by powerful nations can have consequences that last for generations. We ask the world to remember our history, stand with survivors, pursue nuclear disarmament, and place human dignity, justice, and peace at the centre of global decision-making.” — Samuel Barton, Marshall Islands Student Association (MISA)

“In a region increasingly militarised through AUKUS, the Quad and great-power competition, signing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons would be a clear commitment to a nuclear-free Pacific and a genuine Ocean of Peace.” — Rev. James Bhagwan, General Secretary, Pacific Conference of Churches

“The Pacific demands and deserves complete freedom from nuclear weapons and their threat – not simply management, but total elimination. Australia has shown it can lead. Australia must match its history with urgent new action.” — Merewalesi Tuilau, Fiji Veterans and Families Association

“Our lands, oceans and bodies carry the nuclear radiation scars and are further at risk to the climate impacts. The Pacific has carried this legacy for 80 years. Now we ask Australia to help carry the responsibility for ensuring it is never repeated.” — Frances Namoumou, Ecumenical Animator, Ecological Stewardship and Climate Justice, Pacific Conference of Churches

Background notes:

• The Parliamentary Friends of the TPNW is a cross-party forum, currently made up of 47 federal parliamentarians who meet and interact with nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation advocates on matters relating to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and to discuss ways to ensure the Treaty’s success into the future.
• Federal Labor committed to signing the TPNW in 2018 but has yet to do so. The delegation is highlighting the urgent need for signature ahead of the ALP National Conference later this month.The Canberra events are part of a wider lobby and advocacy tour to Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne running Monday 29 June to Friday 3 July, sharing testimony from communities affected by nuclear testing and calling for a Pacific that is decolonised, demilitarised, denuclearised and decarbonised.
• Articles 6 and 7 of the TPNW on ‘victim assistance, environmental remediation, and international cooperation and assistance’seek to address ongoing and unresolved humanitarian, human rights, and environmental impacts from nuclear weapons.