GENEVA – A UN expert has welcomed the Republic of the Marshall Islands’ efforts to seek remedy and solutions for displaced persons, while underscoring the urgent moral obligation of the international community to support the country’s efforts to address a multi-faceted internal displacement situation. “Legacies of nuclear testing and military land requisitions by a foreign power have displaced hundreds of Marshallese for generations, while the adverse effects of climate change threaten to displace thousands more,” said Paula Gaviria Betancur, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, in a statement following a 10-day visit to the country. “This situation has been driven largely by forces beyond the Marshall Islands’ control, yet the Government has undertaken significant efforts to seek justice for historically displaced communities as well as develop ambitious climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.” Gaviria Betancur congratulated the Marshall Islands on its recent election to the Human Rights Council, where it has also introduced a resolution to address the human rights implications of the nuclear legacy, and its international leadership on climate change. She encouraged the Government to continue building on these efforts to effectively address displacement. “The Government should adopt a comprehensive, rights-based policy on displacement, promote greater transparency around laws and policies relevant to displaced persons, and continue working with traditional leaders to ensure the land tenure system is adapted to current and future displacement challenges,” she said. Gaviria Betancur emphasised the international community’s moral obligation to support the Marshall Islands’ efforts to address internal displacement, noting that the historical displacement occurred while the Marshall Islands were under administration by the United States of America as a Strategic Trust Territory of the United Nations. “Many Marshallese I spoke with recounted the profound sense of dislocation they feel as a result of their displacement from lands deeply intertwined with their sense of culture and identity as Indigenous Peoples,” she said. “While current compensation arrangements may have been put in place after independence, these aim to codify displacement that took place when those displaced could not reasonably have provided free, prior, and informed consent in line with Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination, given that they were residents of a non-self-governing territory negotiating with a nuclear power that rarely provided full information.” Gaviria Betancur urged the United States to provide historically displaced Marshallese with complete information on their displacement and exposure to residual health risks, ensure meaningful remedy, and seek the full consent of those with traditional rights to lands it occupies for military purposes, including through providing them with the opportunity to terminate such agreements in favour of reclaiming their lands. She also called on the international community to support implementation of national climate change mitigation and adaptation policies, noting the country’s limited contribution to global emissions. The Special Rapporteur will present her report to the Human Rights Council in June 2025. Ms. Paula Gaviria Betancur was appointed as Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons by the United Nations Human Rights Council in September 2022 and assumed the role on 1 November 2022. The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity. UN Human Rights country page: Marshall Islands For more information and media requests please contact: Mr. Krishnan Raghavan (krishnan.raghavan@un.org) or write to hrc-sr-idp@un.org For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts: Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org) or John Newland (john.newland@un.org) Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on X: @UN_SPExperts.