PIFS silence on Japan Nuclear Crisis Unacceptable – PCC

PIFS silence on Japan Nuclear Crisis Unacceptable – PCC

The Pacific Conference of Churches has condemned as ‘unacceptable’ the deafening silence from the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) concerning the nuclear tragedy that is threatening widespread contamination of Pacific eco-systems.

“As the designers and custodians of the 1985 South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty (also known as the Treaty of Rarotonga), the PIFS has been mandated to protect the Pacific region from nuclear contamination and must make strong it’s calls on Japan to account for the way it is handling this nuclear catastrophe,” PCC General Secretary Fei Tevi said.

“In addition, the PIFS has a vested interest in accessing from Japan, reliable reports of the levels of contamination that has occurred and continues to occur in light of the ongoing nuclear catastrophe and how Japan intends on mitigating the problem,” Tevi added.

In the Leaders’ communiqué of 1975, the Heads of Governments of the independent and self-governing States, members of the South Pacific Forum (Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, and Western Samoa) emphasized the importance of keeping the South Pacific region free from the risk of nuclear contamination and involvement in a nuclear conflict and commended the idea of establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the South Pacific as a means of achieving that aim.

The countries of the South Pacific, therefore, collectively believed that the proposed nuclear-weapon-free zone would contribute to their security and minimize risks to their health and environment.

ENDS

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