Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands Manasseh Sogavare on Friday blasted Japan's discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean, describing it as an attack on global trust and solidarity.
Solomon Islands stands with like-minded Pacific islanders and is appalled by Japan's decision to discharge over 1 million tonnes of nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean, Sogavare told the General Debate of the UN General Assembly.
"(The) International Atomic Energy Agency's assessment report is inconclusive and the scientific data shared remain inadequate, incomplete and biased, these concerns were ignored," he noted.
If the nuclear-contaminated water is safe, it should be stored in Japan, the fact that it is dumped into the ocean shows that it is not safe, said the prime minister.
"The effect of this act is trans-boundary and inter-generational and is an attack on global trust and solidarity. So the message is clear: our lives, our people do not matter!" he said.
"We call on Japan to explore other options in addressing the treated nuclear wastewater and to immediately stop discharging it into the Pacific Ocean," he said. "If we are to rebuild trust and reignite global solidarity, we must be honest and frank in protecting our oceans which is the lifeblood of our people."
Sogavare said he has a moral obligation to speak against Japan's discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean.
"I am morally and ethically obliged to speak for humanity, the voiceless, and our children's children. We are the ocean. It is our past, our present, our future. It is the foundation of our very existence, it is our identity," he said. "Please stop the discharge of nuclear treated water or history will judge us."
(Cover: A facility to release nuclear-contaminated water stored within the premises of the plant at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Incorporated (TEPCO) in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, August 24, 2023. /CFP)