3MSP Event: Advancing Nuclear Justice

On Tuesday, March 4, representatives from nuclear-affected communities, diplomats, and advocates discussed the need for States Parties to provide nuclear justice through the establishment of an international trust fund. Kiribati, Kazakhstan, Solomon Islands, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF), its youth initiative, Reverse the Trend (RTT), and the Qazaq Nuclear Frontline Coalition (QNFC) co-sponsored this event. The panelists included: H.E. Ambassador Teburo Tito of Kiribati; H.E. Ambassador Akan Rakhmetullin (Kazakhstan), President of the Third Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW; Aigerim Seitenova, Co-Founder of QNFC; Dr. Ivana Hughes, President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation; Masako Wada, Assistant Secretary-General of Nihon Hidankyo, winner of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize; Anais Maurer, an Assistant Professor of French at Rutgers University; and Maverick Peter Seda, the Pacific Coordinator of RTT.

The panel underscored the ongoing struggles of frontline communities exposed to nuclear weapons testing and the long-term consequences they face. The discussion highlighted the importance of the international trust fund and ensuring that the views of affected communities are taken into account. Speakers also highlighted the importance of allies and the need for them to stand in solidarity with impacted communities. Further, as expressed by Aigerim Seitenova, “the struggle for a world free from nuclear weapons feels like crawling towards a light that, at times, seems unreachable. This light has been dimmed by the mere creation of the atomic bomb, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and hundreds of nuclear tests.” We must not give up and keep crawling towards the light. We must take tangible toward reparations and remediation.