The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was ratified by its 50th country this past week, and it will become international law in 90 days.
315 nuclear weapons tests were conducted by American, British, and French colonizing forces in RMI, Kiribati, Australia and Maohi Nui (French Polynesia).
In the formation of the nuclear ban treaty, Pacific survivor voices were prominent alongside those of Hibakusha survivors from Japan, and the nations of the Pacific have led the charge in getting the treaty moved into effect. Fiji, Kiribati, Palau, Samoa, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, New Zealand and Nauru have signed and ratified. Niue and Cook Islands have acceded.
Set to become law despite opposition from the five original nuclear powers, the US, Russia, China, Britain and France.
The late Tony de Brum, spoke heavily on the nuclear legacy, "Every time one of those things went off, it was yet another trauma – I would challenge anyone to live through 12 years of testing in the Marshalls, that does not come away with a permanent scar somewhere in your system. That is a mark of that period."
For additional details on the newly ratified treaty and the diplomatic history surrounding it, please visit the link below: