by Julia Roberto
Kiribati is a Pacific island nation made up of 33 atolls and reef islands, stretching across the equator in central Oceania. Though it is known today as a place where the first sunrise touches the earth each morning, the islands also carry a history shaped by nuclear weapons testing.
In the 1950s, amid the nuclear arms race in the Cold War, the former Christmas Island (now Kiritimati) and nearby Malden Island—territories that would later form the independent Republic of Kiribati—became testing grounds for the United Kingdom’s hydrogen-bomb program. Under Operation Grapple (1957–58), the UK conducted nine thermonuclear detonations, becoming the third recognized nuclear-armed state.
Years later, between April and November 1962, the United States conducted Operation Dominic, a massive atmospheric test series. Twenty-four of these explosions occurred around Kiritimati, overlapping with British testing sites. These detonations were among the largest ever carried out by the U.S. and exposed I-Kiribati communities, foreign military personnel, and the surrounding environment to radioactive fallout.
Immediate and Long-Term Effects
The end of nuclear testing in Kiribati did not bring an end to its consequences. In the years that followed, British and American military personnel departed, leaving behind contaminated soil, damaged ecosystems, and disrupted livelihoods.
Radioactive fallout affected fishing grounds and freshwater sources that local communities depended on. Many I-Kiribati who lived or worked near the testing zones reported illnesses, miscarriages, and long-term health complications, though comprehensive medical studies were rarely conducted at the time.
For decades, the full scale of environmental and human harm remained largely undocumented and neglected. Independent researchers and advocacy groups later found traces of plutonium and cesium in the surrounding areas, as well as significant coral reef degradation linked to blast activity. The secrecy surrounding the tests, coupled with limited colonial-era recordkeeping, made it difficult for survivors to obtain recognition or compensation. By the time Kiribati gained independence in 1979, the islands had already been irrevocably shaped by the lingering effects of radiation exposure and ecological damage.
Gender Considerations
The legacy of nuclear testing in Kiribati is not gender-neutral. Across the Pacific, studies have shown that women and girls face disproportionate health and social consequences from radiation exposure. Women are biologically more susceptible to ionizing radiation, with increased risks of thyroid disease, leukemia, and reproductive health complications. In the years following the tests on Kiritimati and Malden Islands, many women reported miscarriages, stillbirths, and congenital conditions in children—effects echoed in other affected Pacific regions such as the Marshall Islands and French Polynesia.
Beyond these physical harms, the burden of caregiving and survival often fell on women, who became the central figures in preserving oral histories of the tests and advocating for recognition. Despite decades of silence from testing states, I-Kiribati women have transformed their lived experience into a force for accountability and peacebuilding.
Now & the Future — Reparations and Nuclear Justice
For decades, the people of Kiribati received little acknowledgement or assistance from the states responsible for the tests. Both the United Kingdom and the United States maintained limited transparency about the extent of contamination and exposure, and neither has provided comprehensive reparations to affected communities. British veterans involved in Operation Grapple later campaigned for recognition of their health issues, but I-Kiribati civilians who lived near or worked on the testing sites were largely excluded from these discussions.
While neither the United Kingdom nor the United States has offered full reparations or engaged with the TPNW, official U.S. records have long confirmed the scope of nuclear testing in the Pacific. A 2000 U.S. Department of Energy report compiling declassified material documents that atmospheric and underwater tests were carried out across the region, including at Christmas Island:
However, no formal apology or comprehensive support has been extended to affected communities.
Despite this silence, Kiribati has emerged as a moral voice for nuclear justice on the global stage. The country has consistently highlighted its history of nuclear testing in international forums, emphasizing the human and environmental costs borne by Pacific peoples. Kiribati was among the first nations to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), viewing it as a pathway to accountability and a safeguard against future harm. At the Third Meeting of States Parties (3MSP) in 2025, Kiribati reaffirmed its call for affected states to fulfil their obligations under the treaty’s Articles 6 and 7, which address victim assistance, environmental remediation, and international cooperation.
Under these provisions, Kiribati has advocated for the establishment of an international trust fund to support affected communities. The government’s leadership, alongside other Pacific nations, has reframed nuclear disarmament as an issue of sovereignty, human rights, and sustainable development, linking nuclear justice to the broader struggle against colonial legacies and environmental exploitation.
Kiribati’s advocacy continues to shift the narrative of nuclear testing to one of resilience — asserting that true disarmament must include justice for those who lived beneath the fallout.
