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Brittany Nawakatabu
SUVA (PANG) – Today marks the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 and the 39th anniversary of the opening for signature of the 1985 Treaty of Rarotonga, and as the world and the region remember the horrors of nuclear weapons and unite, there is still work to be done.
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown said Japan’s discharge of treated nuclear waste water into the Pacific Ocean does not violate the Treaty of Rarotonga, which established a South Pacific nuclear-free zone.
Civil society groups have been calling on Japan to stop dumping waste into the Pacific, but Mark Brown, chairman of the Pacific Islands Forum, which represents nations associated with the Treaty of Rarotonga, has backed off the Pacific Islands Forum’s efforts and his own previous calls to oppose it.
Brown told the recent 10th Pacific Alliance Leaders’ Meeting (PALM10) in Tokyo that Pacific Island leaders stressed the importance of transparency and scientific evidence to ensure Japan’s actions do not harm the environment or public health.
But he also defended Japan, saying the wastewater was treated using the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), which removed most radioactive substances except tritium and met standards set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“No, the water is treated to remove harmful isotopes so it fully complies with standard guidelines set by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the world’s leading authority on nuclear issues. Japan complies with these guidelines when it discharges wastewater into the ocean,” Brown said in an article for Island Business.
The Cook Islands has been benefiting from development grants from Japan and in 2021 received a US$2 million grant from the Japan Poverty Reduction Fund, which is funded by the Japanese government, through the Asian Development Bank.
Together with a $500,000 in-kind contribution from the Cook Islands Government, the grant has funded projects to support safe recovery in the travel and tourism industry. This year alone, Japan has provided grants totaling $132,680 to the Puaikura Volunteer Fire Brigade Association and $53,925 to the Vaitau School in Aitutaki.
contradiction
In 2023, he said the treaty placed special obligations on Pacific island nations because of the “long-term impacts on the health, environment and human rights of Pacific peoples.” Pacific nations, he said, had a legal obligation to “prevent any person from dumping radioactive waste and other radioactive material” and “not … assist or encourage any person to dump radioactive waste and other radioactive material anywhere in the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone.”
“Our people will gain nothing from Japan’s plans, while future generations will face enormous risks.” The Pacific Islands Forum further pointed out that the issue is “a major transnational and intergenerational harm.”
The Treaty of Rarotonga, a Cold War agreement that bans nuclear weapons testing and deployment in the region, does not specifically address the release of treated nuclear wastewater.
Pacific civil society organizations continue to condemn Japan’s dumping of waste water from nuclear treatment plants. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) plans to dump 1.3 million tonnes of waste water from nuclear treatment plants into the Pacific Ocean in seven separate dumpings, with the eighth to begin between 7 and 25 August.
Despite the recommendations of the Pacific Islands Forum Special Experts Group and calls from civil society to stop Japan’s actions and for Forum leaders to suspend Japan’s dialogue partner status, Pacific Islands Forum Chairman Mark Brown ignored the concerns of all parties and insisted on supporting Japan’s nuclear wastewater dumping plan.
The international community sees the decision as a violation of the Treaty of Rarotonga, which symbolizes a truly cooperative effort in the Pacific that stems from a decade of dedication by Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, the Cook Islands and others to work together to establish a nuclear-free zone in the South Pacific.
Treaty Ratification
Nuclear justice advocate Bedi Laculle said the preamble to the Treaty of Rarotonga is one of the most powerful statements in any treaty ever made. It is a commitment by member states to a nuclear-free Pacific.
“The spirit of the treaty is to preserve the richness and beauty of the islands for future generations,” Laculle said, adding that it was crucial to ensure that the technical aspects of the treaty and the language in the preamble were captured.
“Due to the ongoing nuclear threat, we need to continue to focus on the treaty.”
Lacouré said the treaty does not address modern problems we face, such as the dumping of nuclear waste, and stressed the urgent need to strengthen solidarity and the universality of the treaty.
“A large part of the Pacific has not signed the treaty. There is still some work in the treaty to be ratified. It’s almost like a check mark, but no one is paying attention to it” … PACNEWS
Brittany Nawaqatabu is a graduated journalist and media and communications assistant at the Pacific Globalisation Network.
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